Canto Alla Vita
by Kerrie-chan
Summary: [Gen X fic]The social structure of Cleveland High School was not unlike the Indian caste system. There were those at the top, and those considered the untouchables. What happens when one at the top falls for the untouchable?
1. Perso in Questo Mare

**Prologue:**

This is for your benefits! This is a guide to the various kids.. there are a lot of them " I hope you don't get too confused…

Parentage:

Rick Anderson x Nameless OC Dallas grade 12, Bobbi grade 10

Garland Wakeman x Julia Wakeman Diego grade 12, Jose grade 10, Atalaya grade 4

Kenny x Keo Johnson Regan grade 4, Darren grade 12, Alame grade 9

Mingming x Michael Parker Kyan grade 12, Booker grade 11

Miguel x Matilda Aston Jamie grade 12, Shane, Isaak, Kolby grade 10

Tyson x Hilary Kinomiya Makoto grade 12, Yusuke grade 11, Shina grade 9, Kenji grade 4

Spencer x Maya Katia grade 12

Robert x Mariah Jagen Kaden, Kale grade 12, Emma grade 10

Ian x Emily Nikolaev Alexei grade 12, Ana grade 11, Elena grade 10

Brooklyn x Rhia Kingston Benjamin grade 12, Mackenzie grade 11

Bryan x Liika Kyznetsov Nadya grade 12, Mikhail grade 10, Sasha grade 4

Max x Koi Mizuhara Morgan grade 11, Jezabelle grade 10

Oliver DuBois x Nameless OC Dominique grade 11, Damien grade 10

Enrique x Esperanza Valerio Blaise grade 12, Ferdinand grade 11, Constance grade 4

Tala x Jade Ivanov Fayina grade 12, Ilya grade 10

Kai x Lucy Hiwatari Gou grade 12, Shae grade 11, Kolt, Karina grade 9

Johnny x Cassiopeia MacGregor Conrad grade 12, Hale grade 11

AN: I hope you guys like it! This is my new ficcy featuring GenX XD

xxxxxxxxx

**Chapter 1: Perso in Questo Mare (Lost in this Sea)**

xxxxxx

"Wake up brat."

He groaned, pulling his pillow over his head in attempt to block out the gruff voice of his father. It couldn't be morning yet…could it? Fuck…he didn't want to get up.

"Go away."

Apparently he lazed about a bit too long because suddenly his quilt was ripped away and his mattress tipped so that he was sent sprawling to the floor. He moaned. Life really wasn't fair. Why did he have to have a father that was cruel?

His eyes cracked open, his blurry lavender orbs settling on the large man with eyes the same color as his own that was standing over his now empty bed half-glaring at him.

"Mrrr…" He moaned closing his eyes again.

Even though his floor was extremely hard—especially compared to his bed—he didn't move. Instead he threw his arms over his head, and grabbed the pillow that had fallen beside him and stuffed it under his head, trying in vein to ignore the eyes that bore into the side of his face.

However, after a few moments the steely silence, accompanied the heavy gaze proved too much for his resolve and he sighed grumpily, opening his eyes and sitting up.

"There, I'm up."

"Mika, are you up?" A new voice asked from the doorway to his room.

Liika paused, blinking, and looking from between her fifteen year old son on the floor, to her husband who was standing beside an empty bed, his arms crossed over his chest and his lips tilted in a smirk. "What's going on?" she asked confused, her eyes moving from one to the other. "Why are you on the floor?"

Mikhail grumbled, pulling his slightly-stocky body to his feet, pushing his blue bangs out of his eyes. He glared at his smirking father. "He tipped me off the mattress."

"Next time you'll get your ass out of bed won't you?"

Liika rolled her eyes. "Bryan," she scolded lightly, "Did you really need to knock him off the bed?"

Bryan snorted. "I refuse to play this fucking game again this year." He gave his son a stern look. "Next time it will be water."

Mikhail paled slightly, rolling his eyes. "Whatever."

The blue haired woman sighed, shaking her head. Her husband and her son were too alike for their own good sometimes.

It was a well-known fact—by his parents and all his friends—that Mikhail Kyznetsov was not fond of mornings. He liked his sleep, and preferred to stay up late then sleep in late. Normally Liika and Bryan didn't really bother him about it—Liika had been just as bad when she was his age—but that morning was different. That morning he had to be up for school. Mikhail didn't like school either.

"Mom have you seen my…" Nadya trailed off as she peeked into her little brother's room. "Umm…?"

Mika glared at his sister, then at his father. "Do you mind?" he snapped, referring to his current dress of a pair of boxers and a wife beater.

His sister flushed, averting her eyes. "So-sorry."

Liika turned to her oldest child and smiled. "What did you need sweety?"

"My shoes…I can't find them."

"MOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!"

Liika sighed, her youngest son's voice echoing through the two-story house. "SASHA! DON'T YELL!" she yelled back. "Come on Nadie, we'll find your shoes—you can tell me which ones you can't find—and then you can get some breakfast." She threw a look at her middle child. "Mika, get dressed. I want you down for breakfast in ten minutes."

Mikhail grunted, nodding and throwing his quilt back on his bed. Liika and Nadya disappeared leaving the two males alone. Mika ignored his father for the most part, used to his father's constant surveillance. He grumped his way to his closet, opening the door and pulling random pieces of clothing from the shelves and hangers inside.

"Are you going to watch me get dressed as well?" Mika muttered in the direction of Bryan who was now leaning against the wall beside the now closed door.

"If I have to."

"I'm not going to go back to sleep."

"How do I know?"

Mika snorted, pulling the wife beater over his head and replacing it with a scraggly, tight, greyish black t-shirt. "Can you at least turn around?"

Bryan snickered, his smirk growing a bit. His eyebrow quirked, his eyes running over his son. "You don't have anything I haven't seen before. You were a baby once."

Mika flushed, scowling. "Go away."

Chuckling, Bryan shook his head and straightened. "If you're not down stairs in five minutes I'll drag you down by your hair." With that he left, closing the door quite loudly.

_Bloody family._ He thought, not too unkindly. Why was it that his family were always so nosey?

xxxxxx

"Daddy?"

Tala arched an eyebrow, barely looking up from the newspaper he was reading. "What?"

A pretty red head slumped into the chair beside him, her turquoise eyes wide and imploring. "Daddy…" Her tone was wheedling and Tala could tell instantly that she wanted something.

He gave his daughter an assessing glance. "I repeat: what?"

"Can I take the Lexus today?"

"No." The response was automatic and final, even though Tala himself was smirking. He knew, however, that the discussion hadn't ended. His Fayina was, if anything, tenacious.

"But _daddy_," Fayina wheedled, wiggling closer to her father. "I _have _to take it today."

"What makes today so special?"

Fayina sighed impatiently. "It's the first day of school." She said flatly, frowning.

"And your point is?"

"Dad."

Tala glanced at his daughter again, taking in her large pouting turquoise eyes, and hopeful expression. He felt his heart twitching. Damn it. She always did it to him. Had him right wrapped around her little finger. Her and her mother. He cursed inwardly. They would be the death of him.

"Fine." He grumbled, folding up the paper, and downing the last of his coffee. "I'll take the B.M.W., but if there is one scratch on it Fayina—one—you'll never see the light of day again."

Fayina squealed, jumping up and giving her father a quick, tight hug. "Thank you daddy!"

Tala rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Yeah, yeah. Let go, you're wrinkling my suit."

"What are you thanking him for?"

Fayina bounced over to her mother, kissing her on the cheek before bouncing out the door. "Bye mom! By dad!"

Jade waved, a suspicious frown on her face. She turned her wary eyes towards her husband who was picking up his suitcase, and keys and also heading through the door. "Tala Ivanov, what did you let her do?"

Tala bent over and gave his wife a kiss on the cheek, grinning charmingly. "Nothing, of course."

"Tala."

He rolled his eyes again. "Oh calm down," he stated flatly, heading to the door. "I let her take the Lexus."

Jade gave him a look that clearly said she didn't agree with his choice. "You can't keep giving her what she wants."

He scowled. "She gave me the eyes damn it! I can't say no to the eyes!"

"Grow a backbone," she sighed, shaking her head. "You should have at least told her to take her brother."

"It's ok mom, I'm meeting Mika anyway," a new voice replied for Tala.

Ilya strode into the room, his black backpack already slung over his shoulder. He grabbed the pop tart that was waiting in the toaster for him and gave his mother a bright smile. "Have a good day mom," he said, pushing up his glasses. He then glanced at his dad as he passed him in the open doorway. "Bye dad."

Tala smirked, ruffling his son's hair. "See ya nerd."

Ilya smiled slightly before disappearing through the door.

"I wish you wouldn't call him that."

Tala threw a look at his wife. "We have an understanding. Anyway, I have to go. I'll be home about 6. Bye babe." He said with a smile.

Jade shook her head, waving a bit. She sighed. Time to start her day.

xxxxx

"Mika! Mika! Are you excited about starting grade 10 today??" The nine-year old Kyznetsov chirped, shoving cereal into his mouth.

Mika threw an annoyed look at his little brother. "No." He stated flatly, slumping down at the table. He pulled the box of Honey Nut Cheerios towards him and pouring them into the waiting bowl.

"Sasha, don't speak with your mouth full," Liika scolded from the counter where she was putting things into brown paper bags.

"Sowwy," came the reply from an obviously full mouth.

Bryan levelled his youngest with a look that said, "Don't do it again." Sasha gulped down the cereal and grinned at his dad. Bryan rolled his eyes.

"Bryan can you take Sasha to school? I'm running late, I have a meeting at 8:30, and then a class at 9."

The pale haired man grunted. "If Tala doesn't object. Someone else will have to pick him up." He set his coffee down, careful not to get any on his crisp black suit.

Liika nodded, brushing some toast crumbs off her slacks. "Will you be late tonight?"

"Likely." He shrugged. "Depends on how much paper work there is, Tala just bought out another company."

She nodded, striding over to the table and picking up the bowl from Sasha, ruffling his blue hair with a smile. "Mika, you'll have to pick your brother up after school. I have a class at three this semester."

Mikhail, who had been silently eating his breakfast up until now, scowled. "Why can't Nadya pick him up? She has the car."

"The hell she does," Bryan interrupted. "The Volvo is in the shop, and your mother needs the Supra." He almost shuddered at the thought of his small wife taking his baby. The Supra was his car, and damn it, he didn't want anyone screwing with it! "Not that I'd let your sister take it anyway."

Liika chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of Bryan's head. "I won't hurt it, I promise," she said playfully. "Nadya! It's almost time to go."

"Coming!"

"Fine," Mika said, throwing a glare at his brother who stuck his tongue about back.

"Why can't Nadie come pick me up? I don't want Mika to… he's mean to me!"

Nadya appeared then, face flushed from rushing. Bryan narrowed his eyes at his daughter.

"You aren't wearing that." He stated crossly.

Nadya's face grew brighter and she glanced down at what she was wearing. She honestly didn't see what was so wrong with it…

She was wearing a pair of tight, black flared jeans and red tank top that showed off her belly button. She had on white tennis shoes, gold hoop earrings and several silver bracelets.

"I-I'm sorry… I'll go change." She turned around, prepared to head back up the stairs.

Mikhail rolled his eyes and went back to ignoring the world.

Liika swatted Bryan, and gave him a look. "Don't be silly Nadya. Don't listen to your father. You look fine. That's the shirt Fayina gave you last week isn't it?" She said, stepping over to her daughter and reaching up to straighten the short, lavender pigtails that spouted out from the side of her head.

"Yes…"

Bryan grumbled, scowling. She never agreed with him when he thought their daughter was wearing too little. Tala may let his brat off with wearing less than nothing, but he sure as hell wasn't letting his off with it!

"Nadie, why can't you pick me up?" Sasha whined, looking pleadingly at his sister.

Nadya smiled, walking over and ruffling his hair. "I'm sorry little buddy. I'm taking an extra credit Italian class on Mondays and Wednesdays."

Sasha pouted, glaring at Mika. "Oh…fine. But you'll pick me up tomorrow right?"

Nadya nodded. "Promise."

Just then the doorbell sounded, causing the lavender haired seventeen-year-old to jump "Fay's early," she murmured, picking up her lunch off the counter, stuffing it in her back and then throwing her bag over her shoulder. "By mom, by daddy."

"Bye Nadie, have fun!" Liika said with a wave of her fingers.

Bryan grunted. Mikhail stood up from the table, carrying his bowl and spoon to the dishwasher and plunking them in with a clink. He then moved by the counter, scooped up his lunch, gave his mom a kiss on the cheek and disappeared into the front of the house.

Liika sighed sadly, pushing some of her bangs out of her eyes. "They're all growing up so fast. Nadie graduates this year, and Mika's in grade 10 already. I don't know where all the time flies."

Bryan's chair scrapped across the floor as he stood, making his way to his wife in two strides. He pulled her against him, running his hand over her head. "Don't sound so sad," he said gruffly. "Couple years and they'll be gone and I can have you all to myself again."

She giggled, leaning in to him.

"Don't be sad mom!" Sasha chirped, joining the now family hug. "You still have me! I'll be around forever!"

Liika laughed, pulling away from Bryan and kneeling to her son's height. He threw his arms around her, and she hugged him back. "Of course you will."

"God I hope not."

"Bryan!"

Sasha just grinned, pulling away from his mom and throwing his arms around his father's waist. "Love you too dad!"

Bryan half-smiled, ruffling his son's hair. "Come on brat."

The little blue haired boy nodded. Liika held out his lunch, received a kiss on the cheek before watching the nine-year-old bounce out of the room. She smiled. "Have a good day."

Bryan bent over and kissed his small wife before disappearing after his son, his low voice echoing through the house as he commanded the boy to do something. Liika smiled again, shaking her head.

xxxxx

Five figures lounged lazily on the front lawn of Cleveland Highschool. They watched lazily as other students made their ways up the front steps and into the school, all chattering excitedly about the new school year.

"Man, I think Fayina Ivanov gets hotter ever year," a baby blond admired casually, watching a group of four girls make their way up the stairs. "And that outfit, damn, is she trying to attract someone's attention?"

The girl in question was wearing a short pleated, plaid skirt and a white baby doll top. Her socks came up to the top of her calf, which brown shoes covering them. Her short red hair was styled into a cute bob with shiny, stylish bobby pins pinning back her bangs. She wore a black choker, and bracelets on both wrists. Fayina Ivanov was considered the prettiest, most sought after girl at Cleveland High.

"Nah, she just likes to flaunt what she has," another spoke up, his greyish purple eyes glancing over the group. "She shouldn't be allowed to wear that, it's distracting."

"Makoto has the hots for her," a brown haired boy said, fiddling with his skateboard with one hand.

"You're brother has the hots for every girl in 12th grade, Yusuke."

The brunette threw an amused, but lazy smirk at another blond who was leaning back on his hands, his board resting on his legs. "Can't argue there. Regular manwhore he is."

"What do you think Benji?" the baby blond asked looking at the final member of their group.

The boy with orange hair and green eyes glanced at his friend, then back at the group of girls. His gaze, however, was not on the red head, but rather on the quiet lavender haired girl beside her. "She's ok."

The rest of the group raised their eyebrows and followed his gaze. The baby blond grinned, whistling under his breath. "Nadya Kyznetsov. Brave one you are."

"I don't get how you can think she's hotter," Yusuke stated, pulling his long brown hair out of his eyes and securing it with a ponytail holder. "She's so timid, and shy. She blushes at the mere thought of a guy talking to her."

"I'm inclined to agree with Fern. It takes guts to like her," the other blond said with a shake of his head. "I heard her dad's fanatical. Threatens guys with a shotgun or something whenever they come around."

"And you think Ivanov's father is any better?" The violet-grey eyed one said incredulously, pushing some slate bangs out of his eyes. "They're best friends you know. The fathers."

Fern Valerio (whose name was really Ferdinand, but he hated being called that), Gou Hiwatari, Benji Kingston, Yusuke Kinomiya and Shane Aston made up Cleveland High school's senior skater-bum clique. They were generally unpopular with the rest of the groups, being considered too lazy and too high to do anything but skate and slack off.

Fern's baby blond hair and sapphire eyes made him popular with the younger girls of the school, which he totally supported. Fern was a flirt.

Gou Hiwatari, along with his best friend Benjamin Kingston, were the oldest in their little group. At eighteen, he was the most mature, as well as the most serious. His slate bangs, and black hair made him attractive as well, but most of the school knew him as rather unapproachable and as part of the "no one associates with them because they are good for nothing" group.

Benjamin Kingston, referred to as Benji by his friends, was probably the laziest of the skater group. He was smart, but rarely tried in school. Though he had silky, chaotically styled, orange hair and green eyes, he was not overly popular with the girls, mostly because he chose to wear baggy, grungy clothing, much like his friend. His greatest love was his electric guitar.

Yusuke Kinomiya was only known to the school as "Makoto Kinomiya, the star basketball player"'s little brother. Not that he cared overly, he wasn't really one to give a crap about what his older brother did. He was only a year older. So what if he didn't play basketball? It was a stupid sport anyway.

Thankfully—in his opinion—he looked nothing like his big brother, sporting brown hair and crimson eyes, to his brother's light blue hair and green eyes—an anomaly in their family.

Bringing up the rear was the always-rational one, Shane Aston. He was a triplet, but was remarkably different than his brothers (or even from his older sister for that matter) and made a show of it when choosing his friends. Rational, and intelligent, Shane was the voice of reason for the lazy group, and often was the motivator behind their activities. He had blond hair that stuck up wildly on his head and blue eyes. Not as good looking as Fern, but cute none the less.

"I don't know why we're even discussing this, they're too snobby anyway," Gou stated sharply with a shrug of his lean shoulders.

"Oh, oh, don't look now Shane, your sister is waving at you!" Yusuke cried, falling over laughing. "Hi Jamie!"

Shane looked up at the group and found that his older sister was in fact, waving at him. Her blond hair streamed down her back, her crimson eyes flashing wickedly. He flicked her off. "She's just being a bitch. She and her little friends are laughing at us."

When he did so the girl laughed even harder, drawing the attention of those around her. The other girls giggled, throwing the boys looks of ill-disguised contempt—with the exception of the lavender haired girl Nadya, who just blushed and looked away—and flounced their way through the doors.

"My point," Gou said, "Bitchy. Girl's like that aren't worth dating."

The bell sounded drawing groans for most of the boys. Benji smiled, stretching his arms over his head and standing. "Time for another year of hell," he said, scooping up his board.

Fern snorted. "At least it's your last one, I have another year after this one."

"Yeah well I have two, so stop whining." Shane said, shoving at the other blond.

The boys made their way slowly into the school, shoving at each other and laughing, completely ignoring the looks they were getting from the rest of the student population.

xxxxxx

Nadya pulled her books closer to her body and hunched her shoulders trying to make herself seem smaller. Of course this was difficult when you were rather tall for a girl—5'10.

She always hated the first day of school. It always gave her a sense of loss, and she felt distinctly out of place. She didn't like being around so many people—the halls of the school were packed with other students—it made her nervous. She ducked her head and followed her best friend silently, hoping no one would notice her.

However, this wish was not too be. As she travelled she got jostled from left to right and eventually lost sight of her red haired best friend. Just as she started to panic she was pushed from the side and slammed into to someone, causing her books to fall from her arms and scatter on the floor, systematically being trampled by passing students.

"Watch where you're going bitch," a voice sneered.

Nadya looked up into the disdainful, glasses covered, violet eyes of Alexei Nikolaev and blushed scarlet. "I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-orry." She stammered, falling to her knees and trying desperately to pick up her books that were being trampled into oblivion.

The navy haired senior eyed the other senior with disgust before disappearing, not even bothering to help.

Nadya felt her eyes sting with tears. Not only did she have to make a spectacle of herself, but she had to do so in front of the guy she had a tiny crush on! Sure Alexei Nikolaev was part of the 'bad' crowd, but he was wickedly smart and so good-looking, she couldn't help but secretly like him. Even if he was the biggest asshole on the face of the planet.

Her eyes burned more. Where were her history and math binders?? She was seriously ready to cry.

"Don't let him bother you."

The lavender haired girl blinked, looking up, sniffling a bit and found herself staring into placid green eyes.

The boy was smiling slightly, his red tipped, orange bangs slightly obscuring his vivid green gaze. He was cute, in a lazy sort of way.

He was also kneeling in front of her, holding her missing books.

She blushed even brighter, flinching, and looking away. "Tha-than-thank you." She stuttered quietly.

"You're welcome," he said, pulling himself to his feet and holding out his hand, her books still tucked under his arm.

Nadya nervously tucked her hand in his larger one and allowed him to pull her to her feet as well. His smile never moved, nor did his eyes. He continued to watch her blush and stutter as if that's all he had to do in the day. He didn't even move to give her her books.

"Um…" Nadya murmured, not looking at him. He looked familiar, though she couldn't really place him. She had a bad tendency of not remembering people, mostly because she didn't associate with very many people. Or tried not too anyway.

Only then did his smile move at all. It grew, and his eyes softened a bit. He turned on his heel, tilting his head towards the moving flow of traffic that moved around them. "The first bell already went. If we don't hurry we're going to be late." He said.

Nadya froze, her eyes widening as she realized that he was right. More tears stung her eyes. Being late would mean being the center of attention! She began to quake in fear. "I-Oh…no…" she whimpered.

"Hey," the boy said, stepping closer to her and taking her arm with his free hand. "Don't worry, we can get there—it's only down the hallway." His voice was soothing as he began to herd her down the hallway.

"Ho-how-"

He threw her a lazy grin. "We've only been in the same homeroom for four years." He teased.

Now Nadya was really embarrassed. He had been in her homeroom class for four years?? How did she not know his name? She glanced at him quickly, studying his face to get a better idea of his identity.

_Of course!_ She thought suddenly, her eyes widening. He was in the group that hung out on the front lawn with their skateboards! The group everyone said was always high.

He didn't look high to her; in fact he looked no different than any normal person, minus his grungy clothing. His shirt looked like it was from the 80s and had been worn so much had faded to the point where you couldn't tell what the original color was anymore. His jeans weren't much better, baggy and ripped, also faded to a pale blue. He had chains hanging from underneath his shirt that were attached to his back pocket or wallet—she couldn't tell which. However, what was the most curious was the white shell necklace that hung around his neck looking bright and so out of place on his faded person.

"Yo-you're B-Benjamin Ki-Kingston ri-right?" She stammered, flinching visibly at her weak voice. She really did wish she didn't quake in fear at the thought of being in an unfamiliar situation.

His eyes lit up then, and unfamiliar expression flittering through them. "Yup!" He said brightly. "So you do know me."

"Bu-But you aren't high!" She blurted before she could think any better. _Oh God!_ She thought mortified as she realized just what she had said. Her face burned in shame as she hid it from him. She couldn't believe she had said that out loud!

"I-I-I'm sorry!"

Then she heard it. The low chuckling that was rumbling in his chest. When her eyes darted towards him she saw that he was grinning, laugher spilling from his lips as easily as if she had just told him a funny joke.

"I'm so-sorry. I … I don't know why I said that!"

Benji slowed his laughter to quiet chuckles. "No…I'm not high."

"Nadie!"

Both teens looked up to see a light blue haired boy waiting by the doorway to their homeroom class. He gave Benji the once over, looking as if he had just eaten something bad. Benji ignored him.

"Nadie, we're waiting for you! Come on!" The blue haired teen said excitedly, stepping forward and pulling Nadya away from Benji. "Conrad dyed his hair! You sooo have to see it!"

Nadya blushed, allowing herself to be tugged into the classroom. She glanced back guiltily at the orange haired boy. His smile had finally dropped, but he didn't look horribly upset.

"A-Ah…Makoto…yo-you're hurting me." Nadya stammered quietly.

"What?" The basketball player blinked at her, not letting her go.

"She said you're hurting her you stupid clod," another voice said dryly, delicately removing Makoto's hand from Nadya's arm.

Nadya looked over at her saviour to the dark pink hair and gold eyes of their junior class president—who was sure to win the senior position this year—glaring in annoyance at the exuberant basketball star.

"Oh fuck off Kaden," Makoto snapped, glaring back, but letting go of Nadya's arm with no complaint.

Nadya smiled shyly at the tall pink haired preppy. "Thanks," she murmured, slipping into her seat the in the row beside Makoto.

Another pink haired, gold eyed boy, identical to Kaden, suddenly glomped onto Nadya from behind, his arms slipping around her neck. "Hiya sweety!" He all but chirped before letting her go.

Once again, Nadya blushed—her face was almost always in a constant state of red on the first day of school. Her smile was less shy when she turned around. "He-hello Kale."

The pink haired teen winked. He leaned his chin on his palm. "Did you have a good summer? Well since the last time I saw you…two weeks ago."

Kale Jagen was almost universally popular—both cross grade, and cross clique. Everyone liked him because he was almost always cheerful, and was nice to everyone. He flirted with girls equally with no reference to age, looks or wealth status. He was also considered one of the cutest boys in the school. He and his identical twin brother Kaden Jagen, had dark purple-tinted pink hair and gold eyes. Kale, unlike his brother, was sporty and played on the school's soccer team, and participated in track and field. He was a member of the so called "popular" group.

There were only six boys that were considered part of the core "popular" group. There were of course others that moved in and out; mostly guys that belonged to the "preppy" clique which Kaden belonged to.

The so called leader of the popular boys was Makoto Kinomiya, the self-proclaimed basketball star. To his credit, he _was_ the captain of the team and was heralded by everyone around him as their ticket to winning. Needless to say it went to his head a bit. He tended to be a bit hyper and liked to be the center of attention. Makoto was not overly tall, but he wasn't short either. Standing at about 5'10, he was built solidly, but thinly, with wiry muscles and a slim physique. He looked more like his uncle Hitoshi than his father Tyson.

Dallas Anderson—Makoto's best friend—was the largest boy in Cleveland high school. In fact he was the largest person in the school, teachers included. He stood 6'8", had extremely broad shoulders, perfect for football, if he had so chosen to like the sport. Which he didn't, he deplored it in fact. He preferred soccer, which he played with Kale.

His pale turquoise hair blended with his tanned skin and hung to his chin, which in turn matched his blue eyes. His attitude was much like fellow group member Conrad MacGregor: sarcastic and arrogant. However, unlike Conrad, he had a bit less tact.

Conrad MacGregor's natural hair color was a dark red, and was naturally spiky, no matter what length it was. However, since he had recently dyed it—much to his father's annoyance—it was now a white blond, with bright red streaks through it. It was tied back into a tight ponytail that jutted out the back of his head, with two strands—one red, one white-blond—that hung down on each side of his narrow face. His eyes were violet, and flashed cynicism most of the time.

Conrad's brother Hale was also included in the 'popular' group. He was a junior, and would have been popular no matter if his sarcastic brother was in the 'in' group or not. Less cynical than his older brother, he was somewhere between Kale nice and Dallas tactless. He was a follower, not a leader, and was the youngest member of the popular clique. He was the constant source of jokes, mostly because he _was_ the youngest, and because he was Conrad's little brother. He looked little like his brother—especially after the hair bleaching—with his blue eyes, and short black hair.

The last member of their clique was really only a part-time member, but mostly because he was the only one of the group that didn't play a sport, and he was the only one that really cared about his grades. Blaise Valerio spent a lot of time with the popular group—he was best friends with Kale—but he spent an equal amount of times with the prep group. His black hair was chaotic—not unlike his little brother Fern's or his father Enrique's—but hung a bit longer, shaggy over his eyes and ears. He was far sighted, and so wore glasses most of the time, which hid his vibrant emerald eyes. His humour was a bit on the sarcastic side, but not overly, and he was friendly, but tended to be quiet, preferring to read than to talk. Which contrasted him highly with his best friend.

"Yes," Nadya replied, smiling slightly. "Fay and I volunteered at a children's camp."

The younger Jagen twin grinned. "So I heard," his teeth flashed, "I also hear your good with little kids."

Nadya flushed with pleasure and embarrassment. "I'm ok," she said, "It helps that I have a little brother at home. He went to the camp."

"How's Sasha doing anyway? He's a cute little squirt."

"He's good-"

"Nadya! Did you see Conrad's hair?" Makoto's voice cut into the her and Kale's conversation.

Kale snickered, his eyes dancing wickedly. "Looks awful if you ask me," he whispered conspiratorially. "Should have stuck with the red."

Nadya giggled, behind her hand, her eyes flickering towards the boy in question. It really did look…odd.

White blond, with red streaks running through, and different color bangs. Conrad didn't seem to care that his hair looked funny, or that his friends were snickering at him. He was sitting in his seat behind Makoto, flicking pieces of paper at the back of the blue haired teen's head.

xxxxx

"It's really amazing that so many of them are in one homeroom class," a boy with white hair said with disgust, glancing at the group at the center of the class. He pushed some bangs out of his eyes. "My cousin's an idiot."

Dusk Kinomiya, the sixth member of the skater-slacker group, cousin to Makoto and Yusuke Kinomiya. He was a senior and was Benji's only saving grace in a homeroom filled with 'the enemy.'

Benji snorted, slouching in his desk. He didn't look particularly interested in what his teacher was now talking about. This was particularly shown by the fact that the only books that were on his desk were not his own.

"Your cousin is a loud mouth who thinks he's god's gift to the plant."

Dusk snickered. "True. Sorry about this morning, had to go talk to Mr. Kon, he wants me TA his science 9 class."

Benji shrugged, smiling over his shoulder. "Didn't miss much," he said, "Fern and Yusuke drooled over the Ivanov chick, Gou told them they were retards and Shane tried to be reasonable."

"Same thing as every day then?"

"Yup."

They fell silent for a few minutes after the teacher called attention to them, scolding them for not paying attention, which drew snickers from the popular group in the middle of the room—Dusk and Benji were by the window, in the very back corner of the room.

"Why do you have Nadya Kyznetsov's binders?" Dusk whispered, leaning forward and looking at the purple and the blue binders that sat on Benji's desk, clearly labelled with Nadya's name, as well as the subject they were going to hold.

Benji's smile was a bit more mischievous, his eyes flickering back at his friend. "Came to her rescue in the hall. That fucking prick Nikolaev knocked her over and scattered her things."

"Bet she almost started crying," Dusk replied, careful of his tone. He knew of his friend's opinion of the girl in question.

"Yeah," Benji said, moving his eyes over the room to the girl who was furiously scribbling notes, though he couldn't figure out why. Homeroom was not an academic subject. "She was about to have a panic attack."

"So why do you still have them?"

Benji hummed, tapping his pen on the binders. "Your cousin pulled her away before I could give them back. Besides," he sounded smug, "I'm trying to see if she will actually ask for them back."

Dusk laughed quietly. "Good luck with that."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Mika!" A female voice squealed, before a soft female form pressed against his back and thin arms circled his neck.

Mikhail twitched, his teeth grinding. Oh God. Not another year of her. "Get lost."

The girl giggled and slumped into the seat behind Mikhail. "How was your summer?" She chirped brightly.

He sighed, praying for the teacher just get started so that she could shut her mouth. "No."

Jezabelle Mizuhara had been haunting him since the third grade. She had a weird obsession with him and liked to hang off him, deluding herself into thinking that he actually liked her, and that she was going to end up his girlfriend.

She was cute enough, with sky magenta hair, and blue eyes. But she was disgustingly cheerful, and horribly assuming. She was annoying and he didn't like her.

"No?" she echoed, blinking in confusion. "That doesn't answer my question!"

"Yes it does, think about it."

Jezabelle scowled. "Mikhail Kyznetsov, don't give me that crap! Just answer the question!"

He rolled his eyes. "It was fine. Now will you go away?"

"Class, listen up!"

Mika thanked his lucky stars as his teacher called attention and began to call roll. It was going to be a long bloody year.


	2. Dedicato a chi cerca la sua liberta

AN: Well here it is! The long awaited second chapter lol sorry about the wait.. I've been super busy with school Xx

You will all get used to all the kiddies and their parents as the fic goes on I hope D

xxxx

The social structure of Cleveland High School, Seattle Washington, was not unlike the Indian caste system. There was a top, and there was a bottom, with varying levels in between.

At the top there was the popular group, the very top of which was made up of 'social elite' seniors, with a few junior recruits. It branched off from there, but none of them were as important or 'popular' as the core group.

Fayina Ivanov and Makoto Kinomiya were the leaders of this core group.

In the middle there were many different "cliques", including groups known as the "preps", the "geeks", the "non-descript sophomores" or sophomore boys with no social status, and the "dorky sophomore girls." These cliques were self-sufficient and largely ignored by the top caste. The only exception being the preps, who had some connections with them.

Somewhere between all the cliques, whether above the popular, under them but before the middle classes, or under the middle classes was the group known simply as "bad news." They were often referred to as the "assholes" or "jerks" and were feared by every other group in the school. For a very good reason.

The so called ring leader of the bad group was Alexei Nikolaev. He was easily the most intelligent person in the school, and knew this, and did not hesitate to flaunt his genius in front of others. He was mean to everyone, minus his group members. The bad group were the pierced partiers, who were rumoured to be druggies. However, no one dared to come right out and accuse them, as their reputation was to silence any one who talked about them. They made good on their promise. More than one student had been admitted to the hospital on their account, though they were never convicted of it.

At the bottom of the proverbial food chain were the slacker-stoners. They were the equivalent of the Indian "untouchables" as no one talked to them, and if a popular person was seen talking to them it was seen as a "dirtying" of their social position. Members of this group were looked down upon—not that they cared—and they didn't have a leader per say. They just sort of lazed around. The theory was that they wasted their time smoking pot and skateboarding.

These groups of course were arbitrary and class lines were often crossed, especially since a lot of groups had family members in other groups. Again the only noticeable exceptions being the bad group, and to some extent the slackers.

Of course this meant that the hallways of the old school building were divided into areas of inhabitancy. The popular group hung out on the bleachers beside the soccer field in nice weather, and the senior study hall in bad weather. The preps hung out in Mr. Kehl's history class on level four. The geeks hung out in the Math hallway on level 2, the dorky sophomore girls in the freshman and sophomore "pit"—a small carpeted area in the shape of a pit with stairs and benches in the middle of the school. The unsocialized sophomore boys claimed the PE hallway in the far left hallway on level 1 beside the left entrance where the tennis courts were stationed. The slackers held the front lawn, the left parking lot, or the level four hallways where most of their lockers were. The bad group hung outside in the back parking lot on some days and left stairwell between level three and four on other days. That stairway was largely avoided no matter what day it was.

"Nadie, what do you have after break again?" Fayina asked her best friend who was hiding behind her, tugging her forward so that she stood beside her as she rooted through her fourth floor locker.

"World History II," Nadya replied, shifting her backpack. "With Mr. Kehl."

"Oh right," Fay bit her lip, looking disappointed. "We only have Math together in B block don't we?"

Nadya nodded, looking sad. "I think I'm alone in history, and I know I'm alone in choir."

Fayina snorted, pulling English and Spanish binders off the top shelf in her locker. "You won't be alone in history, I'm sure _someone_ has it with you. As for choir, I don't see why you are taking that anyway. Why couldn't you just take art with me for your fine arts credits?"

"Because…art involves drawing and having other people see it."

The red head rolled her eyes. "What am I going to do with you?" she sighed. "Choir involves singing and having other people hear you."

Nadya shook her head. "Choir is a group, I don't have to stand out."

"And you couldn't have just saved yourself the effort and taken the piano exam and gotten your credits that way?"

The taller girl once again shook her head.

Fayina threw her friend a look. "Have I ever told you that you are the biggest wuss in the world?"

"Aww, be nice Fay," Kale cut in, sliding between the two girls and wrapping his arm around Nadya's shoulder and hugging her sideways. "Our Niddy's just delicate as all. She has a big heart."

Fayina shoved at the pink haired soccer player. "And you are too easy on her. You spoil her. She'll never grow a backbone if you baby her." She scolded, snapping her locker closed with a bang.

"Bah," Kale dismissed, turning himself and Nadya as Fay left her locker heading down the hallway towards the rest of their group. "You're just mean to my baby." To emphasis his point he kissed Nadya's temple and smiled at her when she pinked.

"You know Kale, you're going to scare away any potential boyfriends that Nadie might have," Hale spoke up from his place against the lockers beside Dallas.

Kale huffed, releasing Nadya and kicking Hale's ankle. "Good. Not just anyone's good enough for her. I'm just protecting her."

Dallas snickered. "Of course not just anyone's good enough for her—not just anyone is you."

"Yeah," Makoto spoke up grinning. "You're the only one that her dad allows near her house…coincidence? I think not."

Fayina turned to her best friend and whacked her, earning a bewildered look and a slightly pained expression. "Don't just let them talk about you like you're not even here!"

"I don't mind…"

"_Nadya Alexa_…"

Nadya flinched, knowing that tone of voice only too well. She coughed, turning her attention to the boys. "Uh…um" she searched for the right words. "Me-me and Kale are just friends." She nodded to herself internally, proud.

The group kind of looked at her before bursting out laughing; causing Nadya to blush hotly wondering what she said that was so funny.

"Of course you are," Hale said grinning.

"Nadie, we've had the same conversation every year since junior high. We know very well what you and Kale's relationship is," Makoto said winking.

"We're just saying that some others might not know," Dallas finished, shrugging his massive shoulders.

Kale circled his arms around Nadya's neck from behind and hugged her. "Don't listen to them sweet, I'll marry you one day." He laughed winking.

Nadya elbowed him lightly, smiling.

"Hiya peeps! What's up?"

The group turned their heads, almost as one, to see the two new arrivals who had strolled up.

Ana Nikolaev—younger sister of the notorious Alexei—was next in line to be head cheerleader and was considered by some to be the ditsiest girl in their school. To those who knew her, however, she was not really that ditsy. Though she didn't possess half the intelligence of her genius brother, she wasn't stupid. She was actually quite smart, in matters of little importance anyway. She had stunning looks—second only to Fayina—with her long navy hair pulled back into pigtails, crimson eyes and heart shaped face.

Jamie Aston was relatively new member of the group—her family had moved to the school only the year before. She was cute, with her long blond hair and crimson eyes, and medium height. She was the oldest of four children in her family, and the big sister of the only set of triplets in Cleveland high school. She, and Ana were two of the snottiest parts of the popular group.

"Hey Ana!" Makoto waved, nudging Dallas who was eying the bluenette with interest in his eyes.

Dalla just turned his eyes away and whacked Makoto in the arm causing the light blue haired boy to laugh.

"Hello Dallas," Ana chirped, shifting on her feet.

Jamie rolled her eyes. "I'll try not to feel like I was just over looked." She said dryly, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Hey there ladies," a charming voice drawled as yet another new arrival slipped between the other two new arrivals, his arm draping over each other the girls. "How's it goin'?"

Simultaneously crumpled balls of paper flew at the new boy, which he didn't even bother to duck.

"Parker! Not hitting on the naïve freshman girls yet?" Dallas smirked.

Kyan Parker grinned, winking at his friends. "Workin' on it man. I got all year," he said, throwing winning smiles at the two girls under his arms. "But you know I have to give some special attention to my main ladies."

Kyan Parker was one of a kind. He was the single biggest flirt at Cleveland High, and had the single biggest ego—even bigger than Makoto's, though they were really close. Knowing that he was devastatingly good looking, he took pride that over half the female population of their school was in love with him. He had shoulder length blond hair, with light sky blue streaks running through it, and turquoise eyes. He preferred to wear tight shirts so to accentuate his sculpted abdominal muscles and chest, and loose jeans because they showed off his shirt. He almost always had his set of orange headphones over his head, set just behind his ear, and attached to the CD player that hung from his hip.

He played basketball for the sole reason that it made the cheerleaders pay a whole bunch of attention to him. That and basketball was the single most watched sport at their high school. It was almost a shame he was particularly good at it considering he didn't take it very seriously.

Ana giggled, placing a light kiss on his cheek. Jamie smiled back as well, with holding the kiss, but hugging him around the waist.

Kyan for his part looked extremely pleased with himself. He turned his bright eyes back to his male friends, wiggling his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

Dallas, Makoto, Hale and Kale rolled their eyes, balling up pieces of paper and throwing them at him. Nadya giggled, while Fay just snorted, propping a hand up on her hip.

"Kyan are you ever going to grow up?"

Kyan's eyes immediately shifted to the red haired beauty, his eyes lighting up with what could be called joy—as well as a little mischief. "Fay!" He cried, pulling away from the other two, and striding the four or five feet to where Fay was looking at him with narrowed eyes.

Once he reached her, his hands quickly grasped her hips and he twirled her around, laughing when she squeaked and gripped his shoulders.

"Put me down loser!"

"Ahh my pretty Fay!" He smirked, putting her down, but pulling her towards him. He placed a smacking kiss on her protesting lips before scampering away before she could wallop him. Grinning at her from across the sea of legs that lined the lockers, he said, "Still my number one girl eh Fayina?"

"Touch me again and I'll beat you." She retorted, slight amusement in her tone. No one took Kyan very seriously.

"Touch her again and _I'll_ beat you, preferably to an inch of your life."

"Oh please," Kyan smirked, staring arrogantly at the newest addition to the hallway group. "What can you do? I can't honestly say I'm intimidated by a guy whose hair looks like a candy cane."

Conrad flipped the blond off. "Can't say I'm intimidated by a guy whose hair looks like a mouldy banana." He sniped back. "And that's natural. At least my hair is self inflicted and looks like an _edible_ food."

Laughter sounded throughout the group, including Kyan who shook his head. "Mouldy banana? I think it's time to get a new burn Conrad, you've been calling me that since sixth grade."

"And it is as true today as it was then," Conrad replied, leaning up against the locker beside Fay, nudging his little brother who was sitting beside him with his foot. "Some insults never grow old: they're classic."

Just then the bell sounded over their heads, effectively ending the witty repartee, and eliciting groans from the teens.

"Time for hell I suppose," Makoto mumbled, standing up and stretching. "I don't think I'm made for physics."

"Why in God's name are _you_ taking senior physics?" Conrad demanded, taking Fayina's books.

Makoto threw Conrad a dirty look. "I'll have you know, I am fully capable of taking senior physics!"

"Darren or Kaden is in your class again eh?"

The bluenette grinned, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, both actually, and mom says I _have_ to take two senior sciences."

"Good luck Makoto…" Nadya murmured, smiling at the basketball star.

He shone her a brilliant smile and gave her the thumbs up. "Thanks Nadie."

"See ya later Nadie!" Fay called, walking beside Conrad, who was carrying her books towards their English class.

"Bye…" Nadya sighed, seeing that all her friends had already disappeared towards different classrooms and different parts of the school, leaving her alone in the hallway amongst the moving students—mostly seniors.

Time for the real fun to start.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Ilya sighed, glancing at his friends as they ignored the bell that rang through the school. Sometimes they worried him in their complete lack of care for school. However, even though they cared far less about school than he did, he couldn't help but be attached to them. They were a good group of friends that stuck up for one another—especially his best friend Mika, who, though quiet and kind of moody, was the best friend anyone could ever ask for.

They were a small group—especially when compared with some other groups in the school—and only had the four of them.

Mika was the unofficial leader, his quiet assertiveness leading them with little effort.

Damien DuBois was a lanky, forest green haired boy with cerulean eyes and a quiet, yet fierce temper. He was more likely to stay silent and fume than to rage—unlike Mika, who, if he was mad, let everyone know it—but over all he was a nice guy—as long as you didn't get him mad at you.

Lastly there was Isaak Aston, a friendly, easy going, candy pink haired boy, who had bright blue eyes. He lightened the atmosphere that was often rather quiet around their group.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a pretty, two toned haired girl, heading into the stairwell. His eyes widened. They were on the second floor, she was going up.

Oh no.

"Uh guys, I'll see you later ok? I don't want to be late for Math," he said quickly, shifting his backpack over his shoulder and hurrying away towards the left stairway.

He figured he'd follow her, just in case. She looked like a freshman, and obviously she didn't know the unspoken rules of the left stairway. She was either headed towards the history/language floor or the Math floor. He prayed it was the math floor.

Ilya quickly slipped through the throng of students and into the empty stairwell. Tearing up the stairs, he could hear the girl's footsteps further up the stairs. He could also hear the echoing voices of the reason no one used the left stairwell.

xxxxxx

"Well hello there sweety," a maroon haired boy wearing a backwards black hat smirked, taking a drag of his cigarette and exhaling, eyeing the freshman girl in front of him.

Karina stopped, her eyes widening a bit. She coughed in the smoke that was drifting upwards from the various lit cigarettes. There were five of them—four boys and a girl—and they were all eyeing her with either amusement or distain. They were completely blocking the stairs that led up to the fourth floor, sprawled out on different stairs.

"A little lost?" The red head continued, toying with the stud underneath his lip absently. He had another one in his eyebrow, and she thought she saw one on his tongue as well.

"Um…" she murmured, running her eyes over the group. They looked older, and they looked decidedly frightening.

One of the tallest flicked his cigarette to the floor and stomped it out with his heavy black combat boots. His hair was navy blue, and he wore glasses over his menacing violet eyes. He wore black jeans, and a black, sleeveless, high collared shirt. From the bits of his ears that poked out from his hair, it looked like they were heavily pierced.

He was eyeing her with a certain disgust that mingled with curiosity and amusement. "You're a freshman." He stated flatly.

"What should we do to this one?" A candy pink haired boy spoke up from his place on the step below, exhaling smoke, his crimson eyes flashing. "Obviously hasn't learned the cardinal rule yet."

Karina frowned, biting her bottom lip, unsure of what they were talking about. "Um…"

"You're trespassing you know," the blond of the group said casually, crushing a but under his black shoes. He was wearing a longer black t-shirt and a pair of torn black jeans.

"Morgy's right," the red head spoke up again, "You'll have to pay the price now."

Karina paled, turning her eyes towards the female of the group.

She looked indifferent, lounging against the pink haired boy's legs. She had orange hair, pulled back from her forehead with a bandana.

She didn't like the sound of a 'price', and quite frankly all she wanted to do is back away slowly, then run to the other end of the school and take the other stairwell, even if it meant being late.

This must be why the stairwell was deserted. She should have known better.

Slowly she took a step backwards, making her move to get out of there as fast as possible.

However, before she could get more than a step the red head, who was closest to her, shot forward and grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her against him.

"Ah, ah," he cooed, leering suggestively, his hand running down her hip and onto her backside. "We told you, you have to pay the price. And since you're just so cute… we'll let you off easy."

The navy haired one snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Do what you want," he said, lowering his lanky frame to the ground, draping one of his arms over the girl's thighs.

Karina was scared now. Some older boy was practically groping her and there was nothing she could do. She wanted to kick and scream, but he had her in such a position that she couldn't move.

"Don't you want to know what the price is?"

Karina flinched. "Wh-what?"

The maroon haired boy grinned. "Give me a kiss and we'll let you go on your way."

She began to wiggle. "No way!"

"Um… can you just let her go? She's new, she doesn't know…"

The group blinked at the new voice, turning their attention from the freshman girl to the new arrival—a shorter red haired boy no older than a sophomore.

Karina used the distraction to get away from the groping hands of the maroon haired punk. She felt dirty.

Ilya sighed in relief, but also flinched. He had gotten there in time, but had also drawn _the_ group's attention to him. He was going to get it now.

There was a very good reason no one used the left stairwell—especially between the third and fourth floors. The bad group, or punks, or assholes or whatever a particular group wanted to call them resided there. They took pleasure in frightening what freshman didn't hear of the rule and stumbled into their stairwell. Apparently the girl was about to be their next victim.

The punk or 'bad' group was made up of five people—the leader Alexei Nikolaev, a senior with a genius mind, but bad attitude, and four other people.

Second in command was the only girl, Mackenzie Kingston, a junior who was quieter than her male companions. She was often considered the nicest of the group, but was still not to be trifled with. She was the protected one of the group, and the male members flocked around her, hurting anyone who came near her. She was a pretty girl, with orange-blondish hair and turquoise eyes. She wore, like most of her group, dark, punkish-goth clothing. Her ears were pierced several times; her nose was pierced, as was her tongue.

Morgan Mizuhara, a blond haired, green-eyed junior, was probably the most goth of the group. He always had black fingernails and did not wear any other color other than black. His attitude was much like Alexei's, only a bit more indifferent. He liked to fight, and had a violent streak.

Morgan's best friend, Booker Parker, was called the male slut by his group members, mostly because of his propensity too sleep with anything female, no matter of age. He had maroon hair, neck length, and turquoise eyes, and was pierced some eleven times. Four in each ear, once in his eyebrow, once under his bottom lip and once on his tongue.

The last member of the punk group was Kolby Aston, the last and most devious Aston triplet. He had spiky pink hair and blue eyes. He was the youngest of the group, as a sophomore, and had the least amount of piercings. His ears were pierced a couple of times, and he had recently got his eyebrow pierced. He was an arrogant boy, who didn't give a shit about school or his family.

Ilya, like most of the school—and some of the teachers—was scared of them, and he just knew he was going to get the beating of a lifetime for interfering.

"Who the fuck are you?" Booker demanded, narrowing turquoise eyes at the short red head boy.

Karina now stuck to Ilya's side, hoping that he would get her out of the situation she had gotten herself into.

"Wait, I know you," Kolby spoke up, eyeing Ilya. "You hang out with my loser brother Isaak don't you?"

"It's pretty obvious of who he is," Alexei said, running his fingers absently over Mackenzie's bare calve. "He looks enough like that Ivanov slut."

"My sister isn't a slut!" Ilya cried scowling.

"That so?" Booker said, shoving his hands in his pockets and strolling towards the two younger students.

Without warning the maroon haired boy's fist shot out and slammed into Ilya's stomach. Karina let out a small scream and caught Ilya as he fell forward. Ilya wheezed—he knew it.

Booker cracked his knuckles. "Next time you'll mind your own business eh brat?"

"Oh for God's sake, just leave them alone!" Came another voice scolding loudly.

Karina looked up to see a group of four girls travelling up the stairs towards them. They came to a stop on the landing just behind where Karina, Ilya and Booker were standing. In the lead was a lanky girl with sky magenta-purple hair, blue eyes who was wearing large hoop earrings, a baby-doll t-shirt and a skirt. Her hands were on her hips, and she was glaring at the blond in the stairwell.

Morgan rolled his eyes and threw a look at Alexei who shared his sentiments. A girl beside the purple haired girl—a girl with short navy hair and violet eyes, who looked remarkably like Alexei, glasses and all—glared at the tall boy.

"Really Alexei, picking on freshman. Get a life," the navy haired girl said, propping a hand on her hip.

Alexei snorted, waving his hand dismissingly. "Just take them and get the fuck out of here."

Booker looked slightly disappointed, but shrugged and sat down on the stairs in front of his best friend.

Ilya straightened, his hand brushing over the spot where he'd been punched. _Just what I get for trying to be a hero_, he thought cynically. He threw a look at the girls and smiled a bit. "Thanks Jezabelle," he said before disappearing down the stairs the way he had come.

"Well come on then," Jez said, grasping Karina by the elbow and tugging her towards the group. When the younger girl hesitated she laughed, winking. "You don't have to worry about them right now," she said, "The blond one—Morgan—is my brother and Alexei," she nodded at the navy haired senior who was glaring, "Is Elly's brother."

The navy haired girl waved and smiled. As they passed the group, she delivered a swift kick to her brother's shin, who growled, and made a move to chase after them. This caused the sophomore girls to squeal and dash up the stairs.

"Bloody idiots," Morgan grumbled, rubbing his hand over his eyes. "I wish she'd never been born."

Booker laughed, leaning back on his friend's legs. "I'm sure Alexei shares your sentiments."

xxxxxx

Nadya sighed, slumping into her second period history class. School was far too stressful for her liking.

"Hey there," a male voice said, before its owner lowered himself into the seat behind her.

She turned around, a bright smile on her face. "Blaise!" She cried happily. "You're in this class too?"

The good looking senior grinned easily back. His wavy black hair fell chaotically over his forehead, and ears, and brushed the collar of his plain, tight red t-shirt. His emerald eyes danced brightly, even when he pulled his glasses out of his case and slipped them onto his face. "Ahh there we go, now I can see your pretty face."

She blushed as she always did, giggling quietly. "You're just as bad as Kale," she stated playfully, her normal shy tone evaporating from her voice.

Of all the boys in her group she was closest to the best friends Kale Jagan and Blaise Valerio. The other boys tended to flock around Fayina, Ana and Jamie, but Kale and Blaise preferred Nadya because she was shy and quiet. And they found great amusement trying to bring her out of her shell.

His grin grew. "Don't compare me to that lazy ass," he teased. It was a well-known fact Blaise Valerio was far more into his studies than his best friend, who preferred sports. It was Blaise that tutored Nadya when she needed it.

"Alright ya bunch of slackers!" The teacher called from the front of the room, his smile bright. "You're all very brave, and now it's time to test your courage! Are you ready to enter the wonderful world of World History II?"

Mystel Kehl was the most popular teacher at Cleveland Highschool. The girls swooned over his good looks—long blond hair and blue eyes—and guys liked his friendly, outgoing, humours character. He was a tough teacher, but at the same time made sure he identified with his students. He was also one of the youngest teachers in the school, which helped his case immensely.

A series of groans met his excited greeting, and the blond teacher waved his hand dismissingly at them. "The subject of this year is Western Civilization post Reformation! This will be a good warm up for university, though we don't cover nearly as much as you would in a first year course." His eyes swept over the classroom.

"Valerio!" Mr. Kehl said brightly, his eyes flashing. "I thought you swore off History forever?"

Blaise grinned, raising his hands in a defeated gesture. "I needed the credit." He said haughtily.

Mr. Kehl scoffed, smirking. "You just couldn't get enough of me, I know, I know, I'd miss me too." He laughed, his eyes landing on Nadya next. "And if it isn't my best student disguised as a little mouse," he winked at the blushing Nadya, who ducked her head. "Don't worry Kyz-Nadya," he laughed, "I can't pronounce your last name so it looks like yet another year of Nadya. Either way, time to dispense with the niceties and time to start! We start with Martin Luther and his Ninty-Five theses! You'll get your textbooks at the end of class."

Nadya sighed hoping the blush on her face would recede. She really wished Mr. Kehl wouldn't draw attention to her. She really didn't know where he got the idea that she was his best student. It couldn't be. Shaking her head, she reached over and opened her backpack, looking for her history binder. However, the binders that were in her bag were not her history binder. They were her homeroom and Italian binders…there was only two. There should be four. Her heart sped up… where were her math and history binders??

She whimpered. This couldn't be happening. Where were her binders?? She had them this morning! She had left the house with them! Where could they have gone?!

Then it hit her. The collision with Alexei, her books scattering, cute orange haired boy, Makoto…her eyes widened. Benjamin Kingston! He must still have her binders! Her eyes teared up. Oh no… what was she going to do? Without her binder she couldn't take notes! If she couldn't take notes then she'd get behind! If she got behind she'd fail!

"Niddy," Blaise whispered, tapping the distressed girl on the shoulder. He could hear her silent cries of over inflated anguish – trademarked by her of course. He wondered what had her in such a fit. "Niddy, what's wrong?"

Nadya turned her wide glassy eyes back to her friend. "I don't have my history binder… I forgot that the guy that helped me before class has it… I can't take notes without my binder!" She whispered frantically.

Blaise sighed, patting her head benignly. "Niddy, why don't you just write the notes in another binder and switch them when you get the binder back?"

She stopped, blinking her eyes, dislodging the tears from the corners of her eyes. "I…never thought of that," she replied sniffling.

He smiled, using his crooked index finger to whisk away the stray tears. "Of course you didn't, that's what I'm here for."

"Thanks."

"Hey you two!" Mr. Kehl called out, one eyebrow quirked. "Would you like to take your private discussion public?"

Nadya blossomed bright red again, slumping down in her seat, discreetly taking one of her binders from her bag. Blaise leaned forward on his desk. "Nope, not at all."

"Then zip it." The blond teacher said cheerfully. "Or next time I'll be sure to tell the entire teaching staff that you were making out in the middle of my class."

The class broke out into snickers while Nadya was once again wishing she was dead. Blaise merely raised an eyebrow, his expression flat.

School. Long.


	3. Dedicato a chi colpevole o innocente

AN: Here it is! La new chapter, pour vous!

This chapter is dedicated to Gabby cause she rules lol and she was harassing me about it ;) And her kids take up a significant portion XD

If you guys look in the first chapter there is a change in kids and parentage.. Garland is now married to Julia and their kids are different.. they belong to Jade-55..

I suppose oneday I should say who belongs to who, cause not all the kids are mine.. meh another day XD

I hope you like the chapter!

xxxxxxx

"What the hell happened to you?" Mikhail asked, his eyebrow arching as he met Ilya outside of Ilya's math class.

Ilya was muttering under his breath, rubbing at his stomach with one hand while the other clutched at his backpack on one shoulder. He threw his best friend a half wounded half annoyed look sighing. "I had to play the hero."

The dual color haired sophomore's eyebrows shot downwards, returning the look with one that clearly said he had no idea what the red head was talking about. Ilya sighed again as the two made their way down the hallway towards the right stairs.

"I saw a freshman heading up the left stairs… I couldn't just let her go into the lions den without trying to top her…"

Mikhail rolled his eyes. However, as he opened his mouth to comment, a new voice interrupted.

"Was she cute?"

The two boys looked over to see their pink haired friend join them as they reached the stairwell. He tossed them a big grin accompanied by a wink and a clicking noise.

Ilya's face burned, and her cradled his forehead and shook his head. Mika smirked, turning his attention from the pink haired new arrival, Issak, to his other friend. "Was she?" he repeated teasingly.

"Shut up." Ilya muttered bitterly.

"What's wrong with you?" Yet another new voice intoned as they were heading up the steps.

"What's up Damien?" The pink haired boy greeted over his shoulder. "Oh and we're just trying to find out if the girl Ilya rescued from 'them' was cute or not."

The green haired boy behind them looked up at the shorter red head, a surprised expression flittering over his face. "You tangled with 'them', I didn't think you had it in you."

Ilya scowled. "I didn't really rescue her… Jezabelle and her group came up and rescued us both actually. I just got a punch in the stomach for the gesture."

"Shitty," Issak lamented, patting Ilya on the shoulder. "But at least if she was cute then it wasn't all wasted."

Ilya smiled a bit, shaking his head. "She was."

Mika continued smirking, his hands shoved in his pockets. He knew his friend well enough to read his expression. Ilya obviously thought the girl was more than cute…from the way he was blushing. Of course it _was_ Ilya, and Ilya had a tendency to blush about everything related to the opposite sex.

"So Mika, are you actually going to try to his year in history or is it going to be like last year: You're mom kicking your ass until you do well?" Issak asked casually, grinning ear to ear.

Mikhail scoffed, shrugging once. "Well after this morning and my dad throwing me off the bed, I suppose I'll have to work a bit harder. But no one should expect a miracle. I just don't care."

Ilya sighed yet again. He could practically already hear Mikhail calling him for help…which was stupid because Mika was perfectly smart enough to do it himself. "You should care, how are you going to go to college if you don't care enough to do well in high school?"

Simulations groans sounded around him. "You sound like my dad," Damien complained, rolling his violet eyes. "Faites bien à l'école ou vous entrerez aucun où dans la vie!" He mocked, lowering his voice a little bit.

His friends laughed, not that they really understood the French words. Mika smirked. "Yeah well you know what I get? "You better get good grades boy so that you can get the hell out of my house and get a job!"" Mika snorted. "Of course only _I_ get that… the mouse when she does bad only gets a "You'll do better next time." Pfst."

"Well that's not really fair… if she can't really do better…" Issak started but was cut off by Mika.

"Oh no! That's what she _wants_ everyone to believe!" he cried, a scowl on his face. "Nadya's perfectly smart, smarter than me I think, but she hates doing well because it puts her in the spotlight and she's terrified of being in the spotlight. Fucking wuss."

Damien laughed. "But we already knew that Mika. Hey, when does Jose get back?"

"Monday, I think," Issak answered. "Lucky bastard gets to miss an extra week of school."

"Pft. I wish I was in Florida, or wherever it he is right now."

They reached their class then and entered, heading towards the back of the room.

"MIKA!" a female voice called loudly as its owner waved wildly from the other side of the classroom.

"Oh God!" Mika groaned, slumping down in his chair and slamming his head down on his desk.

"Heya Jezzy!" Issak chirped sitting in the row across from Mika.

_Traitor._

xxxxxxxx

"Hey! Hey you! Yeah you! New girl freshman!" Jezabelle yelled over the Math hall crowd, waving her arm over her head trying to catch the girl's attention.

Karina stopped, blinking and turning around to see the magenta haired sophomore and her group making their way towards her. _The girls that helped me earlier…_

"Hiya!" Jez chirped as the four girls reached the younger girl.

The girl beside Jez smirked and made a face behind the magenta haired girl's back. "Hey, I'm Elena Nikolaev, since we didn't get introduced earlier. The big mouth is Jezabelle Mizuhara, the purple haired quiet one," she pointed at a pretty girl with long purple hair and crimson eyes, wearing a red sundress, "Is Emma Jagen and the other one, who kind of looks like Jez," she pointed to the last girl, whose hair was styled in a cute flip bob like Jez's, but was a pale silver-green, and who had blue eyes, "Is Bobbi Anderson. We call her the Bobinator." She winked and ducked away from a hit that seemed inevitable from the girl named Bobbi.

Karina blinked, overwhelmed by the new information. "Uh… hi… I'm Karina Hiwatari."

"Hiwatari?" Bobbi echoed, a bright smile on her face. "Are you related to Shae Hiwatari? The vice-captain of the soccer team?"

Karina nodded, smiling a bit. "Yes, he's my older brother. I have three brothers."

"You poor soul," Jez lamented, sighing comically. "I only have one, and if I had two more like him I think I'd commit suicide."

The other girls laughed, knowing all to well what Jezabelle's brother was like. A picture of the shady blond in the stairwell assaulted Karina's mind. If her brothers were like him she'd want to kill herself too.

"Well I don't know," Emma spoke up for the first time, her voice soft and kindly, but not shy as one would expect. "I have two brothers and I love them both dearly."

"Oh come on Em," Elena rolled her eyes. "You can't tell me there aren't times when you want to smash your brothers over the head. Especially when Kaden gets in his "I'm better than you" moods and treats you like you are dumber than dog shit."

The purple haired girl looked thoughtful for a moment before laughing quietly. "I suppose you have a point. Kaden does get a bit overbearing, but he gets that from dad. Kale, however, it's hard to even get mad at him."

The other girls nodded. "That's true," Bobbi said, planting her hands on her hips. "I don't think I've ever seen him mad, or mean to anyone."

Karina merely watched, silent as the girls discussed, from what she could tell, their various brothers. She of course, did not know any of the names and was becoming thoroughly lost.

"Guys I think we're confusing the new girl," Jez laughed, slinging her arm around Karina. "Why don't you eat with us? You can tell us in detail about your experience with the jackasses."

"Uh…ok." Karina replied, already being dragged down the hallway towards the stairs.

"We generally eat in the pit," Jez continued, glancing over her shoulder now and then. "It's on the first level. You should hang out with us, unless you already have a group of friends?"

Karina shook her head. "No…I don't really know anyone in this school beside my brothers."

"Good!" Bobbi chirped, shoving her way forward so that she walked beside Karina.

They traveled rather quickly down the stairs, exiting on the bottom floor, all chattering excitedly as 15/16-year-old girls were prone to do. Karina just listened, smiling when it was polite and even laughing on a couple of occasions. The girls were really nice, as she was finding out, and were working hard to include her in their group.

Suddenly Bobbi came to a stop, her blue eyes wide and blinking. "Dude, Karina, that guy looks just like you!" She exclaimed, pointing at a boy that was walking towards them.

The rest of them looked also, and sure enough all noticed the striking resemblance to their new group member. He was taller, but had the same two-toned hair—light slate blue in the front and teal in the back—and the same color eyes. He walked with a sort of cocky swagger, obviously confident in his own being.

Karina instantly looked annoyed. "That's because he's my twin brother." She said, her voice flat.

Bobbi giggled. "He's kind of cute."

"No he's not," Karina replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"What's his name?" Elena asked curious, raising an eyebrow.

"Kolt."

Hearing his name, the boy looked over, his eyebrows arching. "Hello Karina," he said with a bit of a smirk.

The girls—minus Karina—almost fell over at the way he pronounced his sister's name. The r was rolled and carried on far longer than was normal for the English language.

"Hello." Karina replied in a half-distant tone. "Having a good day?"

He shrugged, shifting his backpack. "I guess." He eyed the girls that surrounded her. "I see you've made some new friends," he continued to roll his rs, which made the other girls want to giggle. "Wasted no time eh?"

Before Karina could reply, Jez stepped forward a bit, her hands jammed on her hips and her eyes narrowed. "That's right. We've adopted her into a group, got a problem with it?"

He blinked before laughing. "Nope. But I was wondering Kar, have you seen Gou?"

Karina shook her head. "No…not since this morning."

"Gou Hiwatari?"

Kolt looked at the magenta haired girl who was looking thoughtful, a far cry from the threatening monster that had just confronted him. One finger skimmed her bottom lip, and her eyes were focused upwards as if she were trying to remember something.

"Ah yes! Gou Hiwatari!" She smiled brightly, nodding her head in a matter of fact way. "It's a nice day so you'll find him on the lawn out front. He's part of the skaters I do believe, that's where they hang out."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Jezabelle's a walking directory for people and their cliques."

"That's not true!" Jez cried, pushing at her best friend. "I just remember Gou because him, Benji Kingston and Dusk Kinomiya are infamous around here. Someone told me last year that I should stay away from them because they are a waste of time." Then, as if she realized that the two freshmen were siblings of one of the said waste of times she amended, "No offense to him of course."

Kolt shrugged. "Whatever, later!" With that he turned on his heel and headed back the way he came, presumably heading towards the front lawn.

"I kind of like him," Bobbi said, laughing a bit.

Karina scoffed. "He's not so great."

The other three laughed, Jez once again wrapping an arm around Karina as they set off towards the pit. "Of course you don't think so, you're his sister. I can't think of one sister that thinks their brother is great."

"What about Nadya…she has an opinion of Mika doesn't she?" Bobbi said, wracking her brain for an example.

Jez sighed, smiling as she shook her head. "Nadya doesn't count…she has a high opinion of _everyone_."

"That's true."

Once again Karina was lost, and Emma and Elena picked up on it. "Don't worry about it," Elena said teasingly. "You'll get used to it. I'm sure soon the human social directory over here will show you everyone you want to know, and in some cases don't want to know."

"Speaking of people you don't want to know!" Jez cut in, ignoring the tease from her best friend. "Were you totally scared when they were picking on you? Most freshman girls start crying… I'm totally impressed!"

Karina's face transformed into a scowl. "Are you kidding? I wanted to kick their asses! How dare they pick on kids younger than them? Who do they think they are??"

The four girls look startled at the outburst, all having assumed that she was quiet by nature. Jez tilted her head, her smile slowly getting wider and wider. "I think we're going to get along very well," she said laughing.

"Finally! Someone who's not terrified out of their wits of those losers," Elena agreed, laughing as well.

"Poor Ilya though," Emma commented sadly. "It looked like Booker got to him before we did."

Karina colored at the mention of the cute red head that had tried to come to her rescue in the stairs. At the time she hadn't know what to make of it, but now…

"It was pretty brave of him to go after someone he doesn't even know," Jez grinned, her expression turning a little sly. "He must think you're hot!" This was followed by an evil little chuckle.

Karina's face darkened as she sputtered. "Wha-what?? He does not! I don't even know him!"

Bobbi clucked, catching on to Jez's game. "You don't have to know him for him to think you're hot. It's a little surprising cause Ilya's generally pretty quiet and a bit shy. Maybe you really caught his eye!"

Karina continued to sputter, looking more and more horrified. Emma, taking pity on the younger girl slipped between Bobbi and Elena and looped her arm through Karina's. "Guys, leave her alone. Besides, I'm hungry and we've reached the pit." She said, throwing a quiet, yet teasing wink at the new girl who returned it with a grateful smile.

"Aww, Emma always ruins our fun."

xxxxxxxxx

Most people thought she was totally unaware of her surroundings, and of the social workings of their school. In truth this was mostly wrong as she had a very good idea of the social workings of their school—who was popular, who was not, what groups different people belonged too, and most importantly, who, if you were seen with them, could kill your reputation. This was the common mistake about her—that she didn't really know these boundaries because she didn't pay attention.

In reality it was more that she didn't care about the so-called taboos against hanging out with certain people. She thought it was unfair and cruel to segregate people just because of the false stereotypes that were attached to them. She didn't believe in judging people.

"Neh, Niddy where you going?" Kale asked as she stood to head down the bleachers.

Nadya smiled over her shoulder, adjusting the strap of her backpack. "I just have to go talk to someone before class…I'll see you later."

"I'll come with you," he volunteered, tilting his head. He was rather bored anyway.

She felt panic well up within her. "Uh… no, no! It's ok. I'll be fine."

Yeah so _she_ didn't care about stupid labels, but she knew all her friends did. If Kale knew who she was going to see—she was utterly terrified too—then he would never let her go.

Kale eyed the meet, lavender haired girl with suspicion, his eyes narrowed. "Are you sure…?"

"Oh Jagen leave her alone," Kyan waved from his place at the top of the bleachers, spread out like he owned the school.

"Yeah Kale, going by herself will be good for her." Fayina added, smiling at both, spooning some yogurt into her mouth.

"Thanks Fay." Nadya said before departing, waving at the scowling Kale.

She quickly made her way back into the school, moving through the throngs of students as if she were a mere specter and not another human. Most people didn't notice her, and those that did largely ignored her. It was just the way things were with her; she purposely blended in.

Her steps began to slow, and eventually faltered as she reached the front entrance of the school. Just outside those doors and down some steps were her books…unfortunately retrieving them meant confronting the boy that had them. She blushed and fidgeted with the door. _Come on… you can do it! He was really nice this morning! He won't make fun of you…_

_No, but his friends might._ A voice countered smartly. This only worsened her fear, and her knees actually began to shake. She took a deep breath.

I wish I could just ask for new binders… 

She knew that that was impossible of course, as her mother would ask where the first ones went and then she'd be forced to tell her…and then she would make her go and get them anyway. Dealing with her mom would be even worse than dealing with a group of teenage boys.

Steeling herself she pushed, stepping into the sunlight.

xxxxxx

"So Benj man, are we practicing this weekend?" Shane asked, sprawled out on his back.

"I 'unno," came the reply from the boy that was in a similar position, only on his side with his head propped up on his palm. "Are we?"

"Well since the competition is coming up, it might be a good idea," Dusk spoke up, his crimson gaze on the sky.

"What competition?" The youngest, and new-lunch hour addition to their group asked curiously from his position beside his brother.

"Battle of the bands," Yusuke replied in a bored tone. "Shane signed them up, part of his 'motivating' events or whatever."

Fern rolled his eyes. "Shane figures he should be a motivational speaker."

The said boy snorted, throwing handfuls of grass at his two friends. "What the hell good is having a band if you don't actually _play_ for anyone?"

"He has a point," Kolt shot, nodding. "Are you any good?"

"No, they suck donkey balls," Yusuke laughed, avoiding punches that were thrown simultaneously by Dusk and Shane.

Gou looked down at his little brother and smirked. "We'll win," he said, shoving the younger boy.

Benji merely smiled with his eyes closed, drifting in and out of sleep. Maybe he'd skip choir…after all it was just orientation and wasn't like they'd be doing anything special. Yes…skip choir and nap. That would be fun. "I think we should skip choir." He said lightly, his lips turned upwards.

"Skip the bird course," Dusk replied incredulously, "And face Mrs. Jagen's wrath? I'd rather not thanks. She knows we're here."

"So?"

"Dusk has a point Benji. An hour of sleep isn't worth a week of detention," Gou pointed out with a smirk. "Besides, it's not like we have to do anything in it."

"Point taken."

"Oh, oh!" Fern suddenly cried, sitting straight up. "Popular girl, five o'clock! And she's headed straight for us."

"Popular _mouse _you mean," Yusuke cracked, snickering.

Benji's eyes snapped open then, darting around the schoolyard until they landed on the girl that was stumbling towards them. A true smile touched his lips.

She looked like a nervous wreck. Her face was bright red, and she was obviously shaking as she wrung her hands in front of her. She was adorable.

They all watched silently as she willed herself forward, her face turning a brighter color the closer she got. Kolt blinked, confused at why everyone was staring at her with half snickers and smirks. Was there something special about this obviously terrified girl?

"Um…" she murmured quietly as she came to a stop some two feet away from where Yusuke sat, watching her over his shoulder. "Uh…hi." _Oh that sounded so lame…_

"Uh…hi." Fern parroted, quirking his head.

Silence hung over the group of eight, comfortable for some and majorly uncomfortable for others. Nadya shifted, grimacing. All their eyes watching her were intimidating, and she felt like crying. _This was not a good idea…maybe I should have brought Kale…_

Seeing that she wasn't doing very well, and that Fern's teasing was only making it worse Shane jumped into the rescue. Truth be told he felt kind of sorry for her, and wondered silently why Benji didn't intervene on her behalf. Glancing at his friend he saw that the copper haired teen was watching her with assessing eyes, as if to see what she would do. _You're an ass Benji_, he thought sourly. _And you **like** her. _He shook his head.

"Um…Nadya right?" Shane started, trying to smile reassuringly. He smacked Fern across the head as the other blond began to snicker. "Is there something we can help you with?"

She nodded, sighing inwardly, grateful that someone brought it up. At the rate they were going, she was going to burst into tears and run away before she had a chance to ask for her books back. They would truly laugh at her then. "Um…" she mumbled, glancing towards Benji who was now dozing again, his eyes closed, a smug little smile on his face. Her face darkened. He knew why she was here!

The other boys' heads turned almost as one so that they were all looking at Benji. Shane cursed his friend silently. "Is it something to do with Benji…?" he prompted, hoping to get her to speak more than a single syllable.

She gulped and nodded frantically. "He….He-"

"Oh Jesus Christ Benji!" Dusk cried, glaring at his friend. "Would you put the poor girl out of her misery!"

One eye cracked open. "I have no idea what she wants."

At this Nadya's hold on her emotions cracked and tears spilled out the corner of her eyes as she squeezed them closed. "Oh you do too!" She snapped angrily, sniffling. "You have my books!"

A stunned silence followed as the seven boys stared at her in wide-eyed shocked, Benji included. Benji blinked, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. So, somewhere buried deep within the little mouse was a fierce heart. Interesting…it almost reminded him of something.

Nadya, as soon as she realized what she said, gasped, her hand flying to her mouth and her eyes widening. Her heart pounded in her chest and the tears flooded over her cheeks. "Oh-oh! I-I'm sorry!" She cried, whirling around.

However, before she could get more than two steps a hand wrapped around her upper arm and stopped her. "Hey," Benji said softly, turning her gently. "I'm sorry, I was just teasing you." He reached up and brushed the tears away from her cheeks.

Nadya gasped again, but for very different reasons. His finger brushing her skin made her cheeks heat up with a different kind of heat. All her anger melted out of her and was replaced with bashfulness once more. Her eyes shifted downwards and she shrunk into herself, a small, almost miniscule smile touching her lips. "I-it's ok…I'm sorry for yelling at you."

Benji caught the smile and chuckled inwardly. She thought that was yelling? She obviously had never seen his mother when she got going. "No big deal," he replied, giving her cheek one last stroke before stepping away towards his backpack.

Leaning over he fished the binders out of the already messy depths and held them out to her. "Sorry I didn't give them back, I never really had a chance."

"I-it's ok," she stammered, accepting the books. "I guess Makoto didn't really give you a chance huh?" Her gaze flickered upwards shyly, her smile growing a bit.

Benji laughed, smiling lazily at her. "Not really no. They don't really think much of me."

"I'm sorry!" She shot back instantly, her expression crumbling instantly. "You… well you guys don't exactly have the best reputations."

He shrugged, laughing again. "Well as long as you know the rumors aren't true, I don't really care what they think."

"Hey Benj man, the bell just rang!" Shane said loudly, interrupting the two's conversation.

Fern and Yusuke were dragging Kolt away, snickering and whispering to the freshman as they glanced back every now and then. Gou was standing around with Dusk and Shane, looking at Benji and Nadya expectedly.

"Oh!" Nadya jumped, clutching the books to her chest. "I-I guess I sho-should be going! Um… thank you." She took a step back.

"Hey wait, what class do you have?" Shane called, stepping up beside Benji, his hands shoved into his pockets. "Maybe we can walk you there?" He caught Benji's warning, yet slightly confused look and smiled saucily. "What kind of gentlemen would we be if we let you walk alone?"

Nadya flushed, clearly surprised. "Um… choir."

"What a coincidence!" Dusk exclaimed, grinning ear to ear, moving forward. "We just happen to be in choir too!"

"Re-really?" Nadie stammered. "Yo-you don't really seem to be the choir type." She then gasped. "Oh! I'm sorry… I didn't mean to infer…"

Dusk just laughed, offering his arm to her. "May I walk to you class lady?" he said, a mockingly gallant tone in his voice while he through a cheeky look back at Benji who made a face back.

Nadya hesitantly took his arm, offering him a small smile. "Tha-thank you."

He winked then turned over his shoulder. "Hey you guys coming or what?"

Benji was less than impressed, but said nothing. Gou and Shane shared a knowing look and nudged the orange haired teen. "Don't worry about it," Shane said. "He's just trying to annoy you."

"Meh."


	4. Canto a dolce e fiera

AN: Sorry about the wait.. I'm busy with school XD

I'm sorry if this chapter sucks --' I wrote it in class mostly LOL

It was well known that Mrs. Mariah Jagen, one of the three music teachers for Cleveland High School, was a bit of a hard ass. Most also knew, that while she was tough, she was also very friendly and fair… to those who deserved it anyway.

Thus it was _also_ known that if you were lazy and didn't try and/or care about whatever class you were taking from her, she would know and treat you accordingly. She was uncannily familiar with most students by the time they reached junior and senior level, and thus knew who was known for being lazy. And so it was completely shocking to her to see a relatively good student (a girl one of her sons was best friends with, and a girl that she thought had a lot more potential than she gave herself credit for) walking into her Junior Choir (filled with mostly sophomores and juniors who had taken sophomore choir, occasionally a few seniors would enroll to fill grad requirements) with those she _knew_ were of the aforementioned lazy asses.

Mariah didn't like to categorize students, but the group known as the slackers around school were, in her experience, slackers – Shane Aston being the exception as he had been in her Sophomore Choir the year before and she had quite liked him. However, what annoyed her the most about the laid back boys was the fact that there was quite a bit of potential in all of them. All of them were smart, if only they would put some effort into it.

She watched as the four boys slipped past the students that had already arrived (the bell was about to go after all), pushing the blushing pale haired girl in their wake. They all but forced her to sit with them – placing her right in the middle – Dusk Kinomiya and Shane Aston chatting up a storm, trying to bring the shy girl out of her shell. She looked a bit dazed, but was smiling, even giggling a bit at something the boys said to her.

Mariah's lips twitched as she smiled to herself, turning away to hide her smile. _Maybe she'll be good for them._ After all, they knew that they wouldn't get away with their lazy crap in her class. Not even if choir was seen as a bird course. Ha. Bird course indeed.

"…so then Coach Chang nudged him in the side and he sprang awake asking sleepily: "Is it breakfast time mom?"" Dusk snickered, earning a laugh out of Shane. "I think Coach Chang nearly had a coronary."

Nadya giggled, one hand covering her mouth as her eyes darted towards the orange haired boy sitting on the other side of Shane, who was scowling darkly and looking away. She didn't notice, but his cheeks were tinged with pink. "I-is that true…?" She asked softly, directing the question at Benji. "Did you really fall asleep in gym class?"

Benji's cheeks darkened slightly and he was looking more and more annoyed (read: embarrassed) by the second. He leaned back until he was laying down, his hands behind his head and his eyes glued to the ceiling. He didn't look at her. "Yeah…"

"Benji has technically failed junior gym twice… if he doesn't pass senior gym this year he won't graduate." Shane put in, nodding very manner of factly.

Lavender eyes blinked, a sad expression crossing through her eyes. "I know how that feels," she said quietly, her shoes suddenly becoming extremely interesting. "Gym was always my worst subject…and my mom is making me take senior gym."

Her tone finally drew Benji's gaze, his eyes softening a bit. She was too cute for her own good.

He didn't get annoyed with his friends very often – he actually didn't get annoyed at all very often – but damn it… who needs enemies when you have friends that reveal all your most embarrassing moments? And in front of the girl you liked no less. Of course, he couldn't figure out why he cared – he hadn't ever before – generally he didn't blink when someone laughed or made fun of him, but some how the thought of her knowing bugged him.

He wondered whether she had senior gym last block, the same block as he did. Senior gym was a co-ed class, and that would make three classes he had with her. _I might actually have to make an effort to go to class_, he thought idly, turning his eyes back up to the ceiling. He was dreading the rest of the day… first gym then Italian. Why had he listened to his mom? Oh yeah… he needed the class to make up a failed credit. Right.

The awkward silence that followed her timid confession made Nadya squirm. She had already used up her entertainment value. They'd get bored and leave her alone now. _Why can't I be more exciting like Fayina? Why must I always be boring mousy me?_

"Why the long face?" Dusk asked all of a sudden, his eye narrowing playfully as he leaned towards her and poked her cheek.

Color blossomed from the point of impact and Nadya blinked rapidly, snapping her head in the opposite direction. "Ah..ah…" she stumbled, eyes darting nervously away around.

Dusk chuckled, reaching out and patting her on the head. Shane slapped his hand away and glared at the older boy. "Don't treat her like she's a dog Kinomiya," Shane scolded, quite defensively. "And stop antagonizing her."

"Yes mommy," Dusk cooed mockingly, making a face at the sophomore.

Nadya remained in the middle looking lost and embarrassed. It wasn't often that people fought over or defended her (unless it was Kale, Blaise or Fayina!), and the fact that guys that she hadn't even ever talked to before today were doing it confused her. Why hadn't they gone away like everyone else that didn't know her? The only reason she was friends with the popular crowd was because she was friends with Fayina. If she had not been Fayina's best friend before they came to Cleveland High three years before, she honestly didn't think that any of those popular/jock boys (except Kale who had been her friend since early childhood) would have given her the time of day.

But here were these boys: outcast from the rest of the school population because of some stupid stereotypes, yet so willing to adopt a plain, shy, quiet girl into their mix as if she had always been one of them. It made her stomach flutter and her heart warm to think about it.

"Don't mind them," a gruff voice said over the argument. "They're morons."

Nadya glanced over at Gou who was sitting on the other side of Benji. His lips were tilted upwards and his eyebrow was quirked. His auburn eyes shone with amusement and an almost all knowing glint. It was as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, though he didn't say it.

She smiled back, her embarrassment fading slowly. "The-they're sweet." She giggled

Both boys stopped instantly, freezing, blinking then staring at the shy girl. Shane's cheeks brushed red while Dusk grinned brightly and a bit lecherously. He shot forward then, his arms circling Nadya's shoulders and pulled her against him, cradling her head against his chest.

"Aww, I've never been called sweet before!" He cried, his eye flashing, looking directly at Benji. "Can I keep her?"

Benji didn't move, though his eyes shifted to the side and narrowed on Dusk and Nadya. Nadya's eyes were like saucers and her face was like a tomato. His eyebrow twitched. _I don't care Dusk. Stop trying._

"Alright, let's get started!" Mrs. Jagen called from the front of the room, her gaze shifting over the body of students. It stopped on the group at the very back of the room, her eyebrow quirking upwards. "Mr. Kinomiya, what a pleasant surprise. If you would please cease embarrassing Miss Kyznetsov, we can actually start class." Her mouth tilted a little wickedly. "Although I must say I'm impressed, you actually showed up for my first class – see that it continues."

Dusk just shot the teacher a grin and released Nadya, who by them wasn't sure whether to faint, start crying, or laugh hysterically. For one, the only boys that ever showed such affection to her were Kale, Blaise and her little brother Sasha. She had never been hugged by a boy she barely knew before, and she didn't know how to react to it. She had known Dusk Kinomiya (known of anyway) for three years, but she could count on one had the amount of occasions that she had actually spoken to him. What a strange group… first Benjamin Kingston, and now Dusk Kinomiya… she suddenly couldn't understand why Makoto talked so doggedly about his cousin, or why her circle of friends (and the rest of the school for that matter) loathed them so much. They were really sweet and very nice.

"Anyway, moving on," the teacher started again, her gaze finally traveling from the group at the back over to the rest of the class. "Welcome to JuniorChoir. This is a fairly small class," she paused as if counting, "Twenty five, and five are boys. Good." She smiled at them all. "The grading is as follows: you will be given 30 for class participation, 10 of which will be for attendance alone – easy marks, all you have to do is show up. As an added bonus for showing up, you are allowed a maximum of two unexcused absences, any more and you automatically fail."

There was some groaning at this, particular from Dusk. Benji remained quiet, his eyes closed and his mind elsewhere. Nadya remained alert, hoping that Mrs. Jagen wouldn't bring any undue attention to her. After all, just because she had spent lot of time at the teacher's house, and she was best friend with her mother, didn't mean that she wanted any special treatment. In fact she'd rather no treatment at all.

"If your sick, injured or have a _valid_," Mariah centered her gaze on the group at the back, "Reason for missing class, have one of your parents call me or the office and confirm. Next you will be graded 25 on the two performances we will be giving this semester: Halloween and Christmas. 20 will be theory from theory books you will be asked to buy, 10 for a project you will have to do which I will be outlining in October sometime and lastly 7.5 for your midterm and 7.5 for your final, both of which will be a combination of theory and voice tests. Any questions?"

Only one hand went up and that was Shane's. Mariah nodded at him, her eyebrows raised a bit. "Yes Shane?"

"If we were in Sophmore choir are we continuing where we left off in the books we already have?"

"Yes, those who took Sophomore choir – which I think is actually just you this semester Shane – can continue on in your theory. There will probably be two different groups, beginners, which will be most of the class, and advanced," her lips pursed, "Is there anyone here that has had theory training?"

Only two hands besides Shane's went up, a blond girl in the front row and Nadya, whose hand was practically shaking. Mariah, who knew Nadya played the piano – though not how well exacly – turned to the blond girl in the front row first. "What's your name?" She asked with a smile, being unfamiliar with the girl.

"Jessica Martins." The girl replied somewhat confidently.

"And what level theory have you done?"

"Not that much, I did the first half of Alfred's I think it was, at my old school."

Mariah nodded to herself. "Alright then, you're still quite a ways behind Shane then, I'm sure you wont mind doing that half over again," she winked then turned her attention to Nadya, who shrunk from the attention. "I know you play the piano, so you must have some level of theory, what level are you at Nadya?"

Nadya fidget, all too aware that all eyes were now turned on her. Her face heated up again. Blushing was much like a disease for her. "Um…actually…" she mumbled, avoiding all eye contact with anyone. "Um… well… I have my teacher's ARCT… so-so I ha-have my gra-grade 5 Royal American Conservatory theory…."

Even Mariah was surprised at the timid confession. Most of the students didn't really have a clue what the shy girl was talking about, but the few that did were gaping. Who would have thought that shyest girl in the world would have the highest-level piano certificate from the Royal American Conservatory? She was so young too.

Shane exhaled – he had been doing theory for a while, but never RAC, mostly just the theory his guitar teachers had made him do. Grade 5 RAC theory was as high as you could go beyond university.

"Well… then I suppose there isn't much point in making you do theory is there?" Mariah laughed, "Considering you are probably at a higher level than even I am." She smiled at the red girl. "But it hardly seems fair to everyone else if I just give you 20. We'll work this out later ok?"

"O-ok."

"Moving on, I'd like to start with a vocal range assessment for those of you I haven't had before so that I can know where to put you." Mariah turned and made her way over to the piano that sat almost in the middle of the music room – in front of the risers. "Those who have never been in a choir class please line up. If you know what vocal range you are then just tell me and we'll begin there."

Nadya paled, knowing where this was going. She _knew_ she should have just taken the piano test to get the credits! Now she was going to have to sing _by herself_ where people could potentially hear her! Sure she didn't mind singing in front of Mariah – she had known the woman most of her life – but the rest of the class could hear her. The horror!

"Common Nadie – I can call you that rights? – we have to get in line." Dusk urged, pulling her to her feet, oblivious to the fact that she was obviously terrified.

Nadya was pulled out of her world of abject horror when they started to more. She noticed that even Benji had gotten up, though he was traveling slower and behind her. His presence was slightly reassuring for reasons unknown. Maybe it was the quiet confidence he exuded combined with his lazy indifference. She had neither things. She cared far too much what other people thought – hense her social phobia – and she was anything but confidence. Not that Dusk Kinomiya seemed to care as he chatted away at her. She found it funny that the boy could be so like his cousin, but so unlike him at the same time.

"I never would have thought in a million years _you'd_ be in this class Nadie, are you getting braver on us?"

She blinked, turning her head to greet the new voice and froze when she realized who exactly it was that had spoken.

"K-Ky-Kyan!" She stuttered, her eyes wide and mortified. She had been _sure_ she was the only one from their group in the class.

Now she was in trouble. Not only was Kyan in her circle of friends, but it was well known that Kyan Parker was very talented in music… he'd laugh at her for sure!

The blond playboy laughed, his aqua eyes sparkling. "Apparently not. Oh well, Nadie wouldn't be Nadie if she didn't squeak." He winked.

Nadya fidgeted, her face pink. "Ah… I never thought y-you'd be in this class either…."

Kyan shrugged. "Easy A for me," he then turned his attention to the three boys around her. Dusk had turned conspicuously silent and had a suspicious look on his face. "Hey," Kyan greeted in a casual tone that bore no hostility whatsoever.

Kyan wasn't really the type to hold grudges or dislike people – unless of course they pissed him off in some way. The skater/slacker group had never done anything to him, and really, what the fuck did he care if they wanted to get stoned, skip classes and just be all around lazy? He had a little brother that was suspiciously like them.

However, what did surprise him was the fact that they seemed so close with the painfully shy girl. It was almost like they had been hanging out for a while and were good friends. To his knowledge she never really talked with them… of course she never really talked with anyone. Still, it struck him as odd that someone as shy as Nadya would be so friendly with a group that her own group shunned so badly.

"Uh… hey," Dusk finally answered, clearly a little leery. Gou nodded at the blond boy and Benji eyed him with an air of boredom and tilted his head.

Nadya fidgeted. The silence was awkward, and she was truly afraid some sort of fight was going to break out. Kyan was a jock/popular, and it was a rule that jock/populars did _not_ associate with slacker/skaters. In fact most jock/populars were rather rude… though she couldn't ever remember a time when the slacker/skaters had been rude, mean or really _anything _towards the jock/populars. She wondered silently just what had started the feud.

Kyan sighed impatiently, raking a hand through his hair. "Ok look, this is absurd. If we are going to be the only seniors in this class, not to mention the only guys – not that I'm complaining – it's going to get really fucking irritating to be standing around in awkward silence, particularly since I'm sure Mrs. Jagen will group us together. I have no problem with any of you," he shrugged to emphasize his point, "And I really couldn't give a rat's ass what you do in you're spare time… or about whatever it is that the rest of my group has decided to dislike you about. Besides, anyone Nadie seems to like can't be all bad." He smiled at Nadya.

The three skater/slackers shared a look while Nadya stood uncomfortably between them and the popular boy. Almost as one they shrugged. Benji's hands returned to their common place in his pockets, Gou's arms crossed over his chest and Dusk shoved one hand in his pocket.

"We never really had a problem with you anyway," Dusk muttered with a smirk. "Minus you're over enthusiastic attention towards the opposite sex, which is annoying more than anything."

"What can I say?" Kyan just smiled easily, spreading his hands, "Women love me."

Dusk rolled his eye, scoffing. "Please…"

"Jealous Kinomiya? If you want I could hook you up…"

"_Mr._ Parker, you're next."

Kyan jumped a bit and whirled around, jogging over to where the line had disappeared. Dusk let out an exaggerated sigh, a hand running down the exposed side of his face, his visible eye closing. Nadya smiled nervously, rather happy that Kyan had made some attempt to mend bridges.

"H-he's really not that bad… he means well…" She said, her eyes flickering upwards at the three boys.

"He's Parker," Gou replied with a smirk, before Dusk had a chance. "Everyone knows what Parker is like; one can't take him at face value."

"It looks like you're next…Nadya," Benji finally spoke, his voice low and his eyes lidded.

Nadya stiffened, the terror rushing back all at once. She struggled to regulate her breathing so she didn't hyperventilate as she nodded and turned towards where Mariah was playing various notes for Kyan to sing. She didn't want to do this… she didn't want to sing…_Why did I sign up for this class!_

As Kyan finished he swiveled on his heel and began to march back to where the rest of the class was, giving her a thumbs up and a wink. This of course only made her feel worse, and nothing – not even Mariah's kind smile – could erase the feeling of panic and suffocation that was coming over her at that moment.

"Come on Nadie, I'm not going to bite. It's not a difficult assessment, just sing the notes I play on the piano ok?" Mariah tried to console as Nadya shuffled closer, her hands wringing nervously.

Nadya jerked her head in a nod, her eyes darting around to see if anyone was watching. She was acutely aware of the boys behind her, wishing they were on the other side of the planet.

Middle C sounded on the piano and Nadya hesitated. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She knew exactly what middle C on a piano sounded like, and could mimic it perfectly, but her vocal chords had frozen up.

"Nadie, are you sure this is the class for you?" Mariah asked kindly with a sympathetic smile, folding her hands on her lap.

"O-oh… yes! I c-can do it… I-I ha-have to!" Nadya squeaked in reply, she took a deep breath, stiffening herself, bound determined to make at least some sound escape her throat. She just prayed it was in tune.

Mariah shook her head and let out an inaudible sigh. She just hoped the poor girl wasn't going to burst out crying and run from the room. "Okay, try again." She once more played the note.

It was quiet, and wispy, but it was there, and it was in perfect pitch and tune. Mariah smiled broadly, encouragingly and played the note beside it. Nadya moved her voice one note higher automatically, adding a slight quiver to it.

She had talent, of that Mariah could be sure. If only she would get the confidence in herself she would have an amazing voice. "That's it! Can you put a bit more power into it and make your voice louder?"

Nadya faltered, her voice cracking slightly. Louder? But that would make it so that everyone would hear her!

The note moved up one more to E and Nadya's shy and wispy voice followed it, shaking more and more as time went on. Then all of a suddenly it wasn't alone, a strong tenor voice joined hers an octave lower.

Nadya felt a soft touch on the small of her back and her head snapped sideways, her eyes meeting with lazy looking green. They almost seemed to smirk at her, but at the same time seemed to encourage her, filling her with a bravery that she wasn't used to. Again she marveled at the boy's power to make her feel stronger. Where had he been the past four years?

Benji's voice pushed hers higher and louder, supporting it so that she could get louder without the fear of standing out. Mariah arched an eyebrow at the boy but he merely returned her questioning look with a knowing half-smirk. The pink-haired music teacher felt her lips twitch. She would let him be, if only because the only students left were those in his group and because whatever his plan had been it appeared to be working. Nadya's voice was gaining confidence and was beginning to show definite signs of power.

Their voices continued upwards, and as they got too high for Benji, he merely adjusted so that he was singing harmony rather than the same note. Neither faltered either when Mariah moved back to middle C and began descending. It was on pure impulse that she did, something inside her told her that the girl was capable of a much lower range than middle C.

The lower and lower they got, the more Mariah became rather amazed with both of them. Benji had made it extremely high for a guy, and now both were making it extremely low for what it seemed their voices would do. She was impressed, and excited. With talent like these two – combined with the other few notable talents she had in this class, Shane Aston, Kyan Parker and a couple of the Junior girls – this was shaping up to be one of her best choir classes yet. Maybe this class would be up to the arduous task of inter-state choral championships. She almost danced on the piano bench.

She finally released the last note and beamed at the two seniors. "That was brilliant you two!" She praised, earning a bright blush out of Nadya. "Nadya you have an amazing voice," she leveled her with a look, "When you forget people are watching. Don't worry, you'll get better at losing your shyness." Mariah then turned her eyes to Benji. "And Benjamin Kingston, I must say I'm rather impressed with you, on more than one level. You have a remarkable range, I hope I can count on you."

Benji shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Gou's a baritone-bass and Dusk is a tenor-baritone."

Once again Mariah's eyebrows rose. "Thank you. You two can sit down now."

Nadya couldn't get away faster, particularly after she realized she had been singing almost at the top of her voice. She made sure she didn't make eye contact with anyone as she scurried back across the classroom to where her backpack sat. Her face, was of course, red, and even as she sat down beside Shane she huddled into herself, terrified that someone had heard her.

Though she had to admit that it had been very nice of Benji Kingston to come and sing with her so that she wouldn't have to do it all alone. She hadn't expected him too, and just knowing that she wasn't alone had helped her forget that she had an audience outside of Mariah. She really was pathetic…

She stiffened slightly as she felt someone sit beside her, his thigh brushing her own as stretched out on the riser beside her, one of his arms laying out on the carpeted surface on the step behind her. Her eyes flickered towards him, already knowing who it was. _I should really thank him_, she thought nervously, wringing hands.

"Um…Th-thank you…"

A single green eye cracked open, a smile sliding upon pale lips. Benji chose to say nothing however, and his eye closed again.

_Why didn't he say anything!_ Nadya agonized in silent. _Maybe he resents having to come to my rescue? I'm so pathetic…_

Benji flinched when fingers pinched his own. Opening his eyes, he caught Shane's incredulous gaze as well as the subtle head movement towards the girl between them.

_…She's agonizing again_, he thought with a sigh, wondering if she really was worth all the effort it seemed to be taking to get her attention. "You're welcome," he said after a time, his amusement returning as she quickly looked at him, then away, her ears and cheeks pinking again. He couldn't help but add, "She was right you know, you do have an amazing voice."

Nadya's eyes widened and her eyes darted back to Benji to gage his serious. However, when she found him smiling that smile that she rarely saw on his face, she couldn't help but smile, a small, shy smile back.

Shane sat back and watched smugly as one of his good friends shared a small moment with the girl he liked. Benji just needed a push was all. Anyone who cared enough to look could see that the two seniors were made for each other.

It was in that moment that Shane decided that it was his mission to get them together… no matter how long it took.

Xxxxxx

"Oh my God! So you'll never guess who I saw walking practically arm and arm with those scrubby skaters!"

Normally he didn't pay any attention to what air headed cheerleaders had to say, but at the mention of the skaters he was alert in an instant. He should have turned off into the classroom to the left, but instead he continued to follow the two junior girls that were giggling in front of him. Information was the key to victory.

"Who?"

"Nadya Kyznetsov! Do you believe it?"

His eyebrow arched, struggling not knock their heads together. High school was so inane.

"What was someone like _her_ doing with those losers?"

_A valid question. Not that she isn't a pathetic loser as well._

"I don't know, but I know what I saw! Dusk Kinomiya was like, all over her! That sophomore – Shane Aston? – was right beside them too. But the most interesting part about it all was the expression on Benjamin Kingston's face. It was almost like he was… jealous."

"Really! That can't be, rumor has it that Benji Kingston is apathetic about _everything_."

"I know! I know the rumors, like how he doesn't even _like_ girls, if you know what I mean. But it really looked like he was annoyed about Dusk, Nadya and Shane. Though, I suppose it could have been my imagination. It's so hard to tell with him half the time!"

There was a wistful sigh at which he _had_ to roll his eyes. He could almost hear their next words.

"It's too bad they're such scrubby losers -- they'd all be so hot if they cleaned up a little."

It was at that moment he shut them out. He had no time to listen to teenage girl blather about cute boys and crushes. He was helped by the fact that the two turned off into a Home Ec. classroom to the right.

However, just as he was about to turn around and head back to his own class – he had decided that they were all going to go to last period, mostly because he had Drama and Boris Amery – the Drama teacher – was the one teacher in Cleveland High that actually earned respect from him. That and he rather liked the 'cruel' teacher – when he caught sight of a familiar lavender head exiting the choir room. Yet what was most interesting about it was the fact that it was flanked by a familiar orange head.

He darted to the side, leaning against a nearby set of lockers, crossing his arms over his chest and watching. He ignored the other three boys that trailed behind them, particularly since they departed in the opposite direction as soon as they exited the classroom.

She was talking to him, shyly, but still talking and she seemed heedless to the fact that other people might actually see her talking to a skater. Apparently she didn't pay much attention to the social hierarchy… either that or had temporarily forgot.

Oh he knew of her crush on him… it was hard _not_ to know. But she was so pathetic and weak – she cried at everything. In truth she disgusted him, but it was increasingly looking as if she might serve some use to him.

This thought particularly solidified itself in his mind as he studied the orange haired boy. He was smiling – _not that that is so different_, he thought with revulsion. But it was how he was smiling, how his half-lidded eyes were trained on her, and his attention was focused so acutely. To anyone that knew Benjamin Kingston, and know him he did, all the signs were pointed at interest. Though why anyone would be interested in Nadya Kyznetsov was beyond him.

"Hey Alexei! I thought you were going to class?"

Alexei nearly punched Booker for his interruption, especially when Benji looked up and straight at him, his expression becoming dark and un-Benji-like. He said something to Nadya and hurried her down the hall, causing Alexei to quickly lose sight of them.

"I am." Alexei snapped, finally fulfilling his desire and punching his auburn haired friend. "And you have approximately two seconds to get to _yours_ before I do something you will regret."

Knowing that tone of voice a muttering Booker disappeared down the hall, rubbing his head. Why did everyone pick on him?

Xxxxx

"Well, if it isn't two of my least favorite students in opposite forms." Dark eyes bore down on the two teens as they strode into the gym side by side, both now dressed in shorts and t-shirts. "Kingston and Kyznetsov, I think my luck just turned."

Nadya cowered, shrinking beside Benji who looked completely non-pulsed, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Coach Chang," Benji greeted with a nod and a slow smile. "Looking forward to another fun filled semester."

Coach Chang let out a sarcastic snort, his arms crossing over his chest. "Oh yes, fun. All I have to say to you is that you better be here everyday and you better try or I'm going to fluck your ass so damn fast your head will spin." Almost black eyes then shifted to the squirming girl. "And you, what the hell are you doing in my class Kyznetsov!"

"I-I-I'm so-so-sorry!" nadya murmured, wringing her hands. "My-my mo-mom made me take it…"

Another snort. "Figures, your mother is the pushiest woman I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. Whatever," he paused as more students came into the gym, "Jagen! You are now responsible for Kyznetsov, if she fails, you fail."

Nadya gaped, her wide eyes turning to the dark pink haired boy who came bounding up behind her. His arm flopped around her shoulders, squeezing her to his side.

"You got it Coach C! I'll whip her into shape." Kale exclaimed, his tone slightly protective and defensive.

Coach Chang's eyebrow arched and a smirk crossed his face. "Good, God knows I've failed in every attempt."

"But-"

"Can it Kyznetsov, Jagan made his choice. Now go sit down."

"Come on Niddy!" Kale tugged at Nadya, leading her towards where the rest of the class was sitting.

Nadya, suddenly realizing she had just left her new pseudo-friend, looked anxiously over her shoulder, trying to catch Benji's eye. Somehow the situation seemed familiar.

It wasn't her fault her friend's had a horrible habit of over looking those of lower hierarchical standing. She wanted to say something to Kale, to invite Benji to sit with them, but a part of her held back, afraid of what people would think… afraid that her best friend would hate her.

Benji had moved and was no longer looking at her. In fact he didn't even seem as if he had noticed that she had been pushed away. He was walking towards the wall, his head down and hands still in his pickets.

She nibbled her bottom lip. She just hoped _he_ wouldn't hate her.

xxxxxxx

Jealousy was a foreign concept to Benjamin Kingston. Grenerally, unless it concerned his family, he didn't really care enough to have strong feelings like jealousy and envy. Nothing and no one had ever caught his attention long enough to make a difference.

Thus the surge of foreign emotion caught him by surprise. He had known how close she was with Kale Jagen, and even Blaise Valerio, and so he hadn't really expected to feel so hostile when the pink haired boy had slung himself over Nadya. But the feelings that surged within him were definitely hostile, though he couldn't name them exactly.

Annoyance was there, that much he could tell and… sudden and irrational hatred? Hmm… odd, it wasn't anything like the hatred he felt for Alexei Nikolaev, the explosive kind of hatred that made him want to get violent. It was… almost passive, like he could glare at the soccer star and he would go away – thus leaving her complete attention on him. He had to admit, he liked it that way.

It was a bit different than when they were with his friends. For one, Dusk was an idiot who just wanted to annoy him, two Shane was a genuinely nice guy who could see that the girlw as hopelessly shy. Gou – thankfully! – remained neutral and on his side. Yusuke and Fern didn't count since they were barely around. Though he was sure that if they had been around they would have been obnoxious as well.

_This is retarded_, Benji grumbled inwardly, tearing his eyes away from Nadya and turning them towards the floor. _She doesn't even notice me, why the hell should I care?_

_Because she's shy, she doesn't stand up for herself, you know that. Even if she **did** like you or want you to sit with her – Jagen be damned – she wouldn't say anything. She's probably afraid that her friends would hate her._

Benji frowned, slowly acknowledging what the little voice was telling him. He sighed.

She was so…

"First day and already you're asleep. You're pathetic Kingston!"

Benji rolled his eyes and looked up to the dark haired Chinese teacher who was standing over him, arms crossed over his chest, eyes narrowed.

Giggles and snickers surrounded him though he couldn't care less. He blinked lazily at Coach Chang, a smile forming on his lips. "I figured I'd just keep things normal."

"Smartass," Coach Chang smirked. He then nudged the orange haired boy with his foot. "Get up, you're a captain."

The lazy boy shrugged, slowly bringing himself to his feet. It was at that moment that he realized everyone else was standing and the other captain was standing just behind Coach Chang – Shae Hiwatari.

"And what are we playing?"

A twitch developed in Coach Chang's eyebrow. "You are two seconds from my foot in your ass Kingston. Just pick your team." With that the teacher stomped away, a clipboard under his arm.

"Was it something I said?" Benji asked innocently, a hand running through his hair as his gaze moved to where Nadya stood, Kale at her side. She was giggling, her hand covering her mouth.

"We're playing basketball Kingston," Shae Hiwatari commented dryly, an eyebrow quirking. "Pick first."

"Oh, okay then," Benji turned fully towards the rest of the class. "Hmm… I pick Nadya."

The chock on her face – and the rest of the class for that matter – was priceless. Her eyes went wide, and spreading over her cheeks.

Shae looked surprised – and confused – as well, but his face turned neutral quickly. "Whatever, your loss," he shook a few strands of his long slate bangs out of his eyes, "I'll take Darren."

A brown haired, slightly tanned boy stepped out from the group, his hands in his pickets. He nodded at Shae and came to stand behind him.

"Go Kingston."

"Don't rush me, I'm building a master team here," Benji smirked easily, raising his eyebrows at Shae whose lip curled derisively. "No, I can't rightly choose another member if my vice captain doesn't come over here."

Nadya jumped, scurrying across the gyp floor to come and stand beside Benji. She was blushing, which wasn't surprising really.

She didn't know what to make of it. She had never been chosen first before… ever. Generally she was last. After all, who wanted a klutzy girl who was bad at everything on their team?

"So what do you think?" Benji prompted, nudging Nadya gently. "I suck at this game, and we can't rely solely on your mad skills." He stroked his chin thoughtfully, looking at Nadya. "Who do you think is worthy of our gifted team?"

Nadya bluinked, her mouth opening and closing. He wasn't serious was he? Did he actually want her opinion? And what was with him assuming _she_ was good at basketball! "Um… I'm not very good…" She trailed off, glancing shyly at him.

"Shh!" Benji held up a hand, winking subtly at her. "They'll think you're just being modest – you'll inadvertently give away our brilliance."

"_Today_ Kingston!"

"You're in an awful hurry to lose Hiwatari," Benji replied snarkily, shooting a smirk at the taller dual hair colored boy. "Well hobbit?"

Nadya shifted, startled at the new nick name. "K-Kale is pretty good," she whispered.

"Hm?" Benji bent down slightly, his ear turned towards her.

"K-Kale is pretty good," she repeated, shifting from foot to foot.

He quelled down his annoyance. He had to wonder though, whether she was choosing Jagen simply because they were close, or because he was _actually_ good. He was a soccer player, not a basketball player. But then, he _did_ seem like the type to be good at any sport he tried.

"Hmm, alright, we'll go with your judgment on this," he replied finally, "But if he doesn't hold his own I'm blaming you." He winked with raised eyebrows.

"Kingston…" Shae growled, looking more and more irritated as minutes passed.

Benji waved him off, "The decision is made. Jagen."

Kale bounced up, his expression slightly suspicious, but also happy that he was on the same team as his best friend. True, he wasn't the biggest fan of Benjamin Kingston, but he seemed like he genuinely liked Nadya, and was nicer to her than most people were. He'd have to actually start paying attention to him. Maybe they weren't as stupid and lazy as everyone had labeled them as.

Benji met Kale's eyes and the two stared hard for a few seconds, challenging each other, before the spell was broken.

_What was that?_ Nadya questioned silently, looking apprehensively between the two.

Oh dear… 

xxxxx

"We have to stop meeting like this," a male voice quipped lazily as its owner slid into the seat beside her.

Nadya looked up surprised, blinking as familiar lidded green eyes met hers. She blushed instantly. "B-B-Benjamin!" She stuttered

Benji leaned back, smiling at the blushing girl. "You know, I think this makes four out of six classes together."

She didn't know what to say so she just nodded jerkily. She hadn't realized before, but he was right. Homeroom, Choir, PE, and now Intro Italian, that was the majority of her day!

Was it possible to become friends with a boy you have essentially ignored for three years? Sure, he wasn't as bad as she had been told he was (same went for his group) but he was still a skater/slacker. In fact, from he new knowledge about his group, she was sure he was the leader of the said 'burnout' (another term used to describe them) clique. How could she be friends with them? Or better yet, why would they want to be friends with her? It was her group that was practically responsible for their low social status (well, the preps helped too!). Who would want to be friends with a member of a group that had made your high school life horrible?

Sometimes she wished she had 'belonged' to different group. She truly hated being mean to people, and there were those in her group that didn't seem to mind it at all. She had hope for Kale at least… he wasn't mean to anyone.

"D-d-do you hate me?"

As soon as the verbal vomit left her lips she cringed and huddled, berating herself for asking such a stupid question. Why did she ask that?

Benji's eyes widened, taking in her tormented expression and fidgeting hands. His smile turned soft and he couldn't help but find her incredibly amusing. Where the hell would she get an idea like that? Hate her?

Silly girl.

"Why would I hate you?" He replied instead, deciding that she would probably start to cry if he actually voiced his true thoughts.

"Well…" she avoided his gaze, drawing patterns on the table. "My friends have done nothing but make fun of you and your friends for three years. Why sh-shouldn't you hate me? Then there was the disaster in PE today…"

He actually chuckled, his eyebrow arching. "Are you your friends?" He was half turned towards her, his arm slung over the back of his chair, his head tilted to the side.

"N-n-no…."

"Well then, what's the problem?"

"But I-"

"Look," he shifted then, leaning forward, "I couldn't give a rat's ass about your friends. Their little social class system means jack shit to me or my friends. I don't care what they say, besides I have my own views on _them_." He paused, taking a breath, and running a hand through his bangs. "But you are not them, never have been. And as for PE today…" he chuckled again, his eyes sliding back to their half-lidded state, "I thought we did pretty good."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "We lost 160 to 20… and I scored on us twice."

He out and out laughed at that, once again running his hands through his hair. "It's not like I helped… I think I actually caught the ball a whole three times."

A small smile began to peak out from under her nibbling teeth. "T-that's cause you refused to run…"

"I can't help it if I'm exercise challenged." He sighed dramatically. "My body just refuses to move that fast. Though in retrospect, I think maybe I should have tried a _little_ harder… I think Jagen's head nearly exploded when I missed that bounce pass."

This incited a fit of giggles from the girl that was getting less and less nervous as the moments passed. "K-Kale was so mad at you…"

"Buon pomeriggio e benvenuto ad introduzione ad italiano!"

The two straightened up as the teacher called the class to order, but not before Nadya snuck in one last tiny smile flashed in his direction.


	5. Negli occhi tuoi riflessa

AN: Omfg I actually updated this fic O.o lol Sorry about the incredibly long wait, I was uninspired. One can only write when they can you know! Anyway, thanks to Shannon my wonderful beta! Onwards!

* * *

The rest of the week didn't really fly by, but for some it went pretty quickly. Nadya was one of those people. So consumed with her new friends, she didn't even notice that her old friends were starting to notice something funny about her. Nor did she notice the dark violet eyes that followed her around everywhere. She was far too consumed by the new experience of having friends whose world seemed to revolve around her.

However, for others, like Mikhail and those of his group, the week dragged on, and when the weekend finally came, they couldn't be happier. Sad to say though, it couldn't last forever, and before they knew it, they were back at school on Monday. The only plus side to the matter was that there was one more person to suffer along with them.

"Damn you and your tan!"

Jose smiled, his white teeth contrasting greatly with his tanned skin. "I'm not going to apologize if that's what you're looking for." He laughed, slapping his green haired friend on the shoulder, "I see the first week of school has drained you of whatever color you had Damien."

"He's French, the French don't have any color to begin with." Mikhail interjected, knocking Jose's arm in greeting. "Though I would still like to kick your ass for getting to miss a week of school to be in Florida."

Said French boy punched Mikhail shortly thereafter and a play-scrap ensued. Ilya sighed, not even bothering to attempt to break up the friendly wrestling match, and was thankful when Issak strolled up. Not that Issak attempted to break them up either, but at least there was one more person to stand between him and the scrapping pair.

"How was Florida?" Ilya asked lightly, smiling at his friend.

Jose shook his head at Damien and Mikhail and turned to Ilya and Issak. "It was fun, when Atalaya wasn't trying her hardest to piss Diego off that is. We did all the theme parks, despite dad's grumbling, and spent lots of days on the beach, per mom's wishes. Abuelo and Abuela spoiled us rotten, as usual, although personally, I think that Atalaya got the best end of the deal."

"She's the youngest," Issak returned with a sheepish smile, "They always spoil the youngest. My grandparents try to spoil Kolby, though he's only the youngest by like ten minutes, but he's an ass so yeah."

The brown haired sophomore shrugged, easily stepping out of the way of a practically rolling Mika and Damien. "It's the way it goes, I don't mind. I still got a bunch of stuff, and to miss a week of school."

"Ugh, boys are so juvenile."

The three sophomores looked up to see a group their own age approaching, the lead girl, a girl with short, navy blue hair, and glasses had a slightly disdainful look on her face. The girl beside her, whose magenta hair was styled cutely in an outwards flipping bob, was much more bouncy, and her entire face seemed to light up when she caught sight of the now still Mikhail.

"Mika!"

"Dear God in heaven." Mika muttered, stiffening as the magenta haired fangirl bounced towards him, lit up like a Christmas tree.

Jose, Damien, Ilya and Issak all chuckled or snickered, the former doing the snickering and the latter doing the chuckling. Mika merely scowled at them while trying to slap away clingy hands.

As the rest of the girls caught up to their friend, they came to a stop beside the four other boys, smiles on all their faces. "What's up losers?" Elena asked, tilting her head towards them, her violet eyes meeting with Damien's cerulean eyes with raised eyebrows. She made a face at him.

"Now whose juvenile," Damien smirked, darting across his friends to grab the shorthaired girl in a headlock.

"Moving on," Bobbi rolled her eyes, shoving the pair out of the way so that she could stand beside Jose and flirt. "Hello Jose," she grinned, tossing her hair a bit. "I see Florida was good to you."

Jose ran a hand through his bangs, smiling easily at the darker skinned, pale haired girl. It was a familiar game between them. Bobbi was an almost incorrigible flirt, but her favourite target was Jose Wakeman. No one knew why exactly, some had the theory that she had a huge crush on him, and that flirting extra heavily with him was her way of showing it, others thought that perhaps it was because he was safe ground. Others thought they were dating already. It was a mystery.

"Hey Bobbi, have a good summer?"

The rest rolled their eyes as the two began their regular game. They all had their own opinions of the relationship between the brunette and the sophomore girl. Instead Issak and Ilya, the only two boys not engaged in some sort of discussion (or fight!) turned to the remaining girls… Emma and Karina.

Issak shifted, leaning against the nearest locker. "So, are you going to introduce us to your new friend?"

Issak hadn't missed how his red haired friend had been conspicuously silent since the girls' arrival, beyond the chuckle at Mikhail and Jezabelle. He also hadn't missed the slight blush, or the fact that he refused to look at the teal and slate haired girl that was beside Emma.

"This is Karina," Emma said softly, glancing at their new friend, "She's a freshmen. Karina, this is Issak, and I believe you've met Ilya."

Karina, who also had been avoiding eye contact with the red haired sophomore grimaced a smile in his and Issak's direction and looked off to the side once more. "Hello," she murmured quietly, distantly.

Emma sighed a bit. "The one wrestling with Elly is Damien, the one Jez is molesting is Mikhail and as Bobbi mentioned that's Jose."

"It's nice to meet you Karina," Issak said in a friendly manner, despite the fact that the girl was not looking at them. He, being one of the tactful one's of the group, refrained to comment on the events of the week before.

Damien, however, had far less tact than his friend, and immediately stopped play fighting with Elena, who straightened up looking disgruntled. "So you're the girl that Ilya took the punch for huh? He was right, you are cute."

Karina stiffened, her eyes expanding before she whirled around and disappeared down the crowded hall.

Elena glowered, sending a hard elbow into Damien's gut. "Nice going retard," she growled, stepping away from him, her head held high. "We should get going anyway."

Emma was already gone, chasing after Karina, while Elena had to forcefully drag Jez away from a thankful Mika, and remind Bobbi more than once that they were leaving.

As the last of them left, half the boys let out relieved or confused sighs. "Les filles," Damien grumbled, arching his back, "Qui les comprend?"

"Or in English," Mika seconded, "Girls are stupid."

"Oh I don't know, they have their moments."

There was a pause before the two largest boys jumped the laughing brunette.

xxxxxxxxxxx

It was amazing really, what a week and a half could do. A week and a half and she was opened up to them like they had been friends their entire life. A week and a half and she lost almost all of her stuttering, and at least some of her blushing.

She would always be a blusher.

She was charming, even when she didn't let herself believe that she was. Particularly when she smiled. How he loved her smile.

"So you're in a competition next weekend?"

The conversation came back to Benji, and he returned to the real world, his eyes cracking open to focus on the girl that was currently living in his thoughts. She was sitting across from him, between Shane and Dusk, as was her general place when she came to visit them during lunch hour, not a totally rare occurrence.

Shane was telling her about their band, and the Battle of the Band's competition, from what he could tell from the tale end of her last words. He liked the way her eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect. He could just hear the thoughts in her head; _someone I know is in a band!_

Shane popped a potato chip into his mouth and nodded. "Yup, part of my scheme to get these lazy asses off…well their asses." He chuckled, shaking his head. "But they agreed so it's their own fault."

"We only agreed because he bribed us with money." Dusk interjected, grinning easily. "A lot of money."

"They suck though," Yusuke commented idly, snatching a chip from Shane. "They'll come last."

Nadya's eyes widened. "That's not true!" She sounded so offended it stilled the entire group.

Yusuke and Fern shared a look. Fern rolled his eyes.

He really didn't see what everyone else seemed to see in the meek girl. His brother (ugh) and now his group seemed to be in love with her, and he just couldn't understand why.

It wasn't like she overly hot, cause she wasn't. It wasn't even like she had the greatest personality in the world. All he could see was a mousy seventeen year old, with eyes that were too big, and a massive inferiority complex. What was so special about that?

At least he had Yusuke. Yusuke could see that she wasn't anything to fawn over either.

True to Nadya's personality, she quickly turned red, and suddenly found the grass underneath them incredibly fascinating. "Ah… so-sorry."

"Don't be," Gou added quickly, before Yusuke or Fern could comment. "They're just jealous because they have neither the mental capacity, nor the talent to play an instrument."

Nadya peeked up and across at Gou, a small giggle leaving her lips. "I bet you guys are actually really good. You'll win for sure."

Such faith. When she gave her friendship and caring, she gave it all. It didn't really surprise him. It just made him like her all the more. Benji smiled lazily.

"Who could doubt that kind of faith?" Dusk almost cackled, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "With you cheering us on, how could we lose?"

She just blushed some more and giggled.

"You should come." Shane said, with a bit of a smirk and a glance at Benji. "It would be fun. Maybe having our own cute little fangirl in the audience will help us play better."

Nadya's jaw dropped. "Me?" She intoned, obviously surprised, "You want _me_ to come?" Her eyes instantly moved to Benji.

He could feel everyone watching him, and as such he kept his eyes closed. With a placid expression he shrugged. "If you want to."

Her expression seemed to fall a bit, "Oh." She didn't notice Shane's foot lash out and connect with Benji's femur.

The orange haired boy grimaced, finally opening his eyes so that he could glare at the owner of the foot. Shane widened his eyes meaningfully and motioned minutely with his head towards Nadya who was once again looking at the ground. Benji fought back a sigh. Really, girls were so much work. "You should come," he said after a moment, struggling to pull himself up into a sitting position. "You'll have fun."

She peeked at him, pink coloring her ears. "O-okay, I'll-"

"So this is where you go."

Nadya froze, her spine stiffening instantly at the new voice. Her head snapped up and lavender eyes met confused gold. "Ka-Kale!" She stammered, horror rushing through her veins. Her hands fidgeted in her lap as she struggled not to cry. What did she say? How would he react? Was he scandalized? Did he hate her? "Wh-wh-what are you doing here?"

Kale's eyes narrowed, one of his hands resting on his hip, a sort of confused hurt on his face. "I came looking for you, worried. You've been disappearing more and more lately… now I see where to, though I don't know why."

The group of skater/slackers by then had rallied around the shaking girl, minus Yusuke and Fern who rolled their eyes and made their escape, not willing to be a part of the drama. Benji sat up, a neutral expression on his face, but his eyes reflected something that was almost defiant, as if he was challenging Kale's hegemony over Nadya. He couldn't explain it, but he felt almost territorial around the girl that he had set his sights on. It had been increasing over the days that passed, but he had smothered it, particularly during the gym class they all had together. He wasn't possessive by nature, nor was he a fighter, but he was finding that one, adorable but mousy girl was changing him in ways he would have never thought possible.

"Maybe she likes spending time with us?" Dusk shot out irritably after a rather lengthy silence.

Kale didn't get angry, even in the face of the obvious hostility Dusk was projecting in his direction. It just wasn't his nature. Instead, he continued to focus his attention completely on the red-faced girl. Crouching down in front of her, he smiled disarmingly, tilting his head. "Why didn't you tell me? If you want to hang out with other people that's fine, I'm not going to get mad at you." He chuckled. "But as its unlike you to just disappear from your circle of protection, it had me thinking that maybe you had got yourself into something you couldn't get out of."

Nadya peeked up at him, her eyes weary, but a tiny smile crossing over her face. "So you don't hate me?" She asked in a small voice, hope lighting her features.

The dark pink haired boy let out a loud guffaw and threw his arms around her, causing those around him to blink. "Ah, my pretty Niddie. You should know better than that! I could never hate you," he pulled back and winked. "No matter of your choice of company. Besides, the only thing I have against any of these guys is Kingston's laziness that causes us to lose in PE so consistently." The words were said with a grin directed towards the orange haired boy. "I hate to lose you know."

Dusk and Shane relaxed instantly, smiles over coming their faces as well. Gou's eyebrow arched and his lips twitched and Benji returned to his horizontal position. Benji closed his eyes, folding his arms behind his head. "You'll get used to it." He said with a bit of a smirk. "Or maybe, if you beg enough I'll actually try tomorrow."

Kale blinked for a moment, as if surprised Benji had spoken, before he broke out laughing, his grin stretching even more. "Think again Kingston! But since I have been put in charge of making sure you and Niddie pass, I'm going to have to work on some things to get you motivated. Maybe I'll ask Kaden, he's good at getting people to do what he wants." His expression became a big mischievous.

"You mean stick up his ass Kaden Jagen?" Dusk intoned, scoffing.

"None other," Kale saluted Dusk with a wicked expression. "He has terrifying ways of getting what he wants!" Having enough with crouching, Kale fell down onto his bottom, making it clear he wasn't going to be leaving any time soon.

Nadya giggled behind her hand. "It's true!" She added, her features animated, her large lavender eyes turning to Benji. "You might want to try harder Benjamin! You'll regret it if you don't!"

One of Benji's eyes cracked open, meeting the lavender gaze that was on him. "Oh? Are you going to help Jagen inflict these horrors on me?"

"Maybe!"

Kale watched with fascination as his friend interacted with the group that they had, for all intense purposes, spurned for the first three years of their high school. It was amazing. Instead of blushing, stiffening or becoming horrified at the orange haired skaters teasing, as she normally would have done, she just giggled and teased gently right back. It was strange, in a good way. He had begun to lose faith that his best friend was ever going to be anything but a terribly shy, socially terrified woman. Watching her interact with Benjamin Kingston was a learning experience.

She liked him; that much he could see. It made him relieved in a way, that her crush had shifted from the asshole known as Alexei Nikolaev. At least if Kingston broke her heart, it would be only that.

In another way it made his heart ache for his other best friend, the smart, dark haired boy who fancied himself in love with the pale haired girl. He wanted to sigh, knowing that Nadya's newest crush would probably hurt Blaise. With Alexei it had been easy to dismiss – he was dangerous and both knew that Nadya's fascination with him was just a normal teenager girl's fascination with the impossible. But Benjamin Kingston wasn't impossible, on the contrary. If one looked close enough, if one _really_ focused on the two's interaction, one could see what was there.

Affection reflected in the green eyes of Benjamin Kingston.

_Oh dear_, Kale thought with a mental sigh. _At least she's happy_.

"Kale?"

"Huh?" The pink haired boy shook his head, and found himself looking into the curious face of his best friend. "Oh sorry Niddie," he grinned, "Zoned out there for a second. What did you say?"

"Actually it's what I said," Dusk said with a sort of smirk. "I asked if you had the notes for English. Silly me had to miss class today."

Kale laughed, shaking his head. "You mean the lure of the nice day drew you outside to lay here, and thus you chose to miss class." His smile was kind however, not mocking, as so many other students' would have been. "But yeah, I have them. We have a quiz on Friday, so you should be ready. I'll copy them tonight and give them to you tomorrow – which of course is my condition. You have to come to class tomorrow!"

Dusk made a face, but nodded nonetheless. "Fine, but only because if I have one more absent in the next couple of weeks Ms. Shandry is going to call my parents. Blegh."

They fell into a somewhat companionable silence then, each pursuing their own thoughts. Gou sat back, relaxed, as did Benji, who was on the verge of sleeping, while Shane frantically read over his homework for the class after lunch. Dusk fell backwards thinking about all the stuff he had to do that he didn't really want to. Kale poked at Nadya, who squirmed and made faces back. After about five minutes of this, Kale could take the silence no more (he didn't know these people very well after all, and to him it was an awkward silence!) and so he broke it, addressing Nadya with a playful tone.

"You coming to Student Council meeting after school? Word has it that Kaden is going to put you in charge of the music entertainment section of the Winter Fair."

Nadya's eyes expanded like he thought they would and her mouth hung open. "M-Me!" She demanded softly as if not believing what he had just said. "But that's…." She trailed off, a look a fear crossing her face.

"Word has it?" Dusk put in, inviting himself into the conversation. "You mean you suggested it. Cruel, Jagen. I like it." He grinned wolfishly, eyes flashing at Nadya.

Kale laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, being the fair one, Kaden suggested Kyan might be a better choice, and then Katia said both of them, and so thus, they are being appointed. Though you are free to turn it down, Fay will probably force it on you anyway." He gave her a sympathetic smile.

Gou snorted, a smirk on his face. "The inner workings of the social elite are mind boggling. Keep them away from here."

Nadya sighed, knowing that Kale was right. Fayina would force her into it, exclaiming something about it being a good character building exercise. Right. "I'll be there then, it doesn't seem like I have a choice."

"Such is life Niddie, such is life!"

xxxx

It was amazing really, how much power he really had. He almost smirked as he strode down the busy hallway meaningfully. Fear held a great deal of power.

And the fools were all afraid of him. Terrified even.

He was given a rather wide birth when walking down a hallway, even if it was extremely busy as it was at that moment in the after school rush. People avoided any and all contact with him wherever possible. He was proud to say he was the only one in the school that had that kind of power.

And he didn't miss the petrified expressions as he made his way through the crowd. He didn't even need to touch someone to have them cowering. Such was his reputation, as exaggerated and rather foolish as it was. You put two people in the hospital and suddenly you're a homicidal maniac.

Never mind that the fools had challenged _him_, well, one of them had anyway.

Still, it served his purposes to have the entire school afraid of him. It saved him the hassle of having to deal with ignorant morons on a regular basis. It also saved him the hassle of having teachers hound him to come to class. They apparently understood that there was no point in him going to class since he already knew the shit, and going only served to further bore him out of his mind.

Sometimes being a lateral thinker, a genius, was really tedious.

At least after his freshman year everyone stopped bothering to lecture him about class. He had had a 4.0, the highest grades in his year – even higher than Kaden Jagen, who he knew worked really hard to get his 4.0 – he aced every test and every assignment. Why did he need to go to class?

Since the second grade, when he realized that he _could_ skip grades, he had resented the fact that the education system refused to skip him ahead. By rights he should be in college, not still in highschool dealing which pathetic retards and giggly halfwits.

Speaking of giggly halfwits, his target was in sight.

She was bending into her locker, shuffling things around as if she didn't really know what she was doing, or as if she was stalling. Rolling his eyes, he bet it was the latter.

Not that he cared really, what she was doing. However, to accomplish his goal and destroy one Benjamin Kingston, the girl was instrumental.

Normally, he didn't stoop so low as to use pathetic, whimpering females to accomplish his aims, but as he had been contemplating for years how he was going to lure the lazy boy into a trap, a trap that would equal the orange haired boys demise, he figured he was allowed the one indulgence. After all, if she was stupid enough to associate with scum then she was no better than scum herself.

It was also her own fault that she had a crush on him that he could exploit. And that she was stupid enough to manipulated. Had it been the red haired Ivanov bitch, he doubted he could have gotten away with it, no matter how much more superior his intelligence was. She was just too sharp.

Gladly, her mousy best friend was not. The lavender haired girl was bordering on stupid in her gullibleness. He had been watching her long enough to know that for a fact.

Thankfully, she was alone, which was rare for her. Generally she had someone flanking her, whether it was the red headed tart, the clingy jock or the quiet Italian kid. Apparently everyone realized what a gullible, pathetic mess she was.

"Hello."

She jumped clear three feet, banging her head on the top of her locker as she did. He watched as she cursed mildly, holding the top of her head, her eyes clenched shut tightly. The urge to roll his eyes raged within him once more.

Though she had spun around directly after banging her head, her eyes remained closed for another few seconds. Apparently she was afraid to face him after making a complete fool of herself, and rightly so.

_What does that bastard see in this?_ He sneered inwardly.

Gradually, however, she cracked her eyes open, her face bright red and tears swimming in her glassy lavender eyes. With her bottom lip firmly clamped between her teeth, her hand left her head to join its partner in front of her so that they could wring themselves raw.

"H-H-Hi."

_Pathetic_. "Are you alright?" Alexei carefully laced empathy into his voice, even though inwardly he was laughing at how pitiful she really was. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you.

She blushed even bright as embarrassment warred with shock on her face. She was like an open book. Her eyes moved to the floor and the wringing of her hands became more pronounced. "I-I-It's o-okay. I-I'm fine." She mumbled, shuffling.

He wanted to sigh. It was going to be harder than he thought. And more irritating. Realizing that she wasn't going to say anything else, he pushed on, wanting nothing more than to be out of the fucking building and out of the company of Nadya Kyznetsov.

"I was wondering if you wanted to do something on Saturday." He grimaced in his mind at the words, knowing how utterly not like him they sounded. Using his glasses as a cover, he finally rolled his eyes. Was she so stupid that she didn't realize that what he was saying was so out of character she should be alarmed?

Nadya's eyes expanded with even greater shock and they finally left their focus point on the floor. "Sa-Sa-Sa-Saturday? W-W-With y-you!"

Alexei's hands itched to throttle her. How could anyone take the stuttering? The completely _stupid_ looks on her face. She was like a mentally deficient house mouse that scrambled everywhere, including into the cat's clutched. "Yeah." He added a sweep of his hand through his bangs to add a measure of smoothness.

Was Alexei Nikolaev actually asking _her_ out? She wondered if pigs were flying or the apocalypse was upon them. She wondered if it was some kind of joke. Alexei Nikolaev did not ask her out.

If this event had taken place two weeks prior she probably would have cried with gratitude and happiness. However, now, even if he was being serious, she wasn't sure what to think.

Thoughts of an orange haired, lazy, musician clouded her mind to the point where Alexei Nikolaev was a distant, fuzzy image that conjured at best fear.

She wasn't blind, or stupid. She had caught a couple of the looks of complete loathing Benji had sent in the direction of the dark haired genius, looks that were fully reciprocated. Benji wouldn't want her going out with Alexei, even if she had wanted to herself.

At the same time, she wasn't keen on saying no… to anyone. If he was indeed asking her seriously, she didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying no. Nibbling on her lip, she shifted, trying to find some excuse that would get her out of a potentially sticky situation.

And then she remembered that the Battle of the Bands was on Saturday, and that she was supposed to be going to cheer on her new friends. That caused her to perk up, and a small smile bloomed on her face. A way to let him down gently without lying to him!

Alexei watched the inner battle on the girl's face with extreme annoyance. He could tell that she was reluctant to accept, which showed that she wasn't as stupid as he might have thought. That she was wary showed intelligence. Apparently she could question his motives.

When she perked up he raised an eyebrow. After the inner battle, he couldn't be sure which side won, thus what the smile was all about. He waited patiently for her to speak, his irritation growing.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, the stutter noticeably reduced. "I p-promised my friends I would g-go to the Battle of the Bands."

_The bitch thinks she's hurt my feelings_. He wanted to laugh in her face, but held himself back. Her tone was placating, speaking that she didn't want to hurt him, but at the same time she didn't suggest another time or day which either meant she was afraid to, or that she didn't really want to go out with him and Saturday was an excuse, a valid one, but an excuse nonetheless. He didn't really care either way.

"That's okay." Thinking fast, he figured out how he could use the situation to his advantage. The Battle of the Bands huh? So the Kingston bastard actually kick started some form of ambition. It was perfect, he thought, his keen mind wheeling, his eyes narrowing fractionally. Kingston would be there, and so would the weak little fool, it would be easy to lure him out. Excellent. "I was going to suggest we go there anyway. Perhaps we'll meet there."

With a fake smile that hid a smirk, Alexei turned on his heel and strode back down the hall the way he came. Yes, everything was going according to his rough plan.

"What the hell did Nikolaev want?" Blaise demanded as he and Kale appeared at Nadya's elbow, all three watching the navy haired teen disappear.

It was better if she didn't say anything. If she told them what he wanted then they would want to know her excuse, and then she'd have to explain why she was going to hang out with the skaters on a weekend.

Kale had, that afternoon, forged a sort of truce with her new friends, but somehow she felt he tacitly disapproved of her socializing with them. Blaise didn't even know, and she didn't think his reaction would be very good. His little brother hung out with that group, and he and Fern had never had a very good relationship.

So she answered with a bland answer, praying they didn't see the lie and/or question her further. "Nothing," she said, smiling at her two good friends.

The boys eyed her speculatively, neither really believing her. "He didn't hurt you did he?" Kale asked suspiciously, looking her up and down, studying her for possible injury.

"Didn't threaten you?" Blaise added, taking her backpack from her and closing her locker door. "Just say the word, we'll go rough him up for you if he did."

This drew a laugh out of Kale, and a giggle from Nadya. "Sure Blaise," the dark-pink haired boy patted his best friend on the shoulder. "Cause you inspire fear even in the hearts of the biggest, toughest guys. Personally, I'm terrified of you."

Blaise returned the pat with a punch and a nasty face. Nadya continued to giggle, her heart swelling with love for her friends. "Thank you for the thought Blaise," she said softly, catching his arm and smiling at him. "I'm fine though."

The dark haired boy settled, smiling at his friend as he tucked her arm through his. "Well then, shall we be off to Student Council? Kaden will be chomping at the bit by now. Plus, I have it on good authority that you're on the organizing committee for the 90s fair in December."

Nadya sighed, her shoulders drooping. "I was hoping everyone would forget about it." As they were only down the hall from Mr. Kehl's history/Student council classroom it took them only seconds to get there.

"There she is! My partner in crime."

The three teens looked up as they entered to see Kyan dart across the room and drag Nadya away from Blaise and Kale. Nadya followed meekly, knowing the blond boy well enough to know that once he had an idea in his head there was no stopping him.

Out of the corner her eye she saw Fayina wave at her with a cheeky grin, and in an uncharacteristic move, Nadya made a face at her, complete with scrunched eyebrows and protruding tongue. The red head just raised her eyebrows and laughed.

Nadya sighed. How did she always get roped into these kinds of things?


End file.
